The Other Side of the Mystery Book
by Mr. Skiperdoo
Summary: Alan Walker is sent as a mole from Black Mesa to investigate Aperture's newest "discovery", and sabotage any implications of highly advanced technology. What he finds is completely unexpected as he and a group of conflicting personalities advances on a strange island.
1. Arrival At Aperture

Author's notes: **Hello, whoever it is you are. If you've initiated within yourself the horrific mistake of clicking on this story, then I congratulate you. As you may have read in the title, this is my first release on , so I'm really excited to see what you guys (and girls) think about it. Truth is, this story is very normal during the first few chapters, but once it progresses, it sort of will slide into a borderline crossover area. Now I'm 99.999998% sure none of you could guess what this will also include by reading only the first chapter, but hey, if you do, free cookies for a month. So, yeah… I'm screwed story wise because I'm sure you peoplez will be dying to know what on earth is going on. Maaaybe you'll guess it a little later on, and after that, if you're familiar with the other series you'll probably catch it pretty soon. If you don't know about any of it however, your response will most likely be along the lines of "WTF MAN?". Alright, so if I haven't already bored you to tears, I would like to inform you that the Enrichment Center allows each and every one of you to skip this. If you do not however… you've just wasted fifty seconds of your life… So enjoy!**

~X~X~X~X~X~

"Would you like anything else sir?" A stewardess loomed over Alan, ready to serve him at any implications. "I hope your flight was enjoyable," she said, leaning over towards her food cart.

Alan slowly lowered the newspaper in front of his face. "No, I think after that meal I don't intend on eating for a while," he said, smiling as if he were actually pleased at what he'd just eaten.

The stewardess smiled back, possibly because she had to always appear happy, but there was always a chance she was really just that stupid. She continued on her way, pushing the cart down the center aisle and attending to the rest of the passengers.

'_Stupid airline food…_' Alan thought as he brought the newspaper back inside his field of vision. Printed on the front page was another story about Aperture, and how yet another one of their products had just been pulled from shelves. His eyes gravitated towards the quote positioned at the bottom of the page. "Horrific reactions such as the ones seen here only occur in about 0.7 percent of the population. We didn't expect the figures to be that significant."

Alan rolled his eyes, and put the newspaper back. What would be next? Would he be involved in some insane experiment that would make the front page? Probably not, since the agents at Black Mesa told him nobody except for a few select people knew about what he was about to undertake. They didn't even tell him that much, instead they told him once he arrived at Aperture he'd be able to improvise as things went along. He knew that wasn't because they were keeping things from him, but also because they didn't know much about it in the first place.

A soft, plane wide beep demanded for Alan's attention, followed by an informative voice coming from the airplane's speaker. 'Attention all passengers, we'd like to inform you that we'll be touching down in approximately ten minutes. Please take the opportunity to ensure your seatbelt is in place, as we prepare for our landing, thank you."

Alan took a deep breath and turned his head towards the window. He peered over in order to see the dark, moonlit landscape soon change into an artificially lit, more populated area. Buckling his seatbelt, he prepared for his favorite part of flying.

Alan stepped off the jet bridge, and into the massive airport, taking in the bustling crowds and the large glass ceiling above him that dazzlingly revealed the night sky above. He glanced over at the mob of people trying to reclaim their baggage, glad that he didn't bring anything over in the first place, for the shady officials back at Black Mesa told him to bring nothing but a sharp wit.

Paying attention to the overhead signs, he recalled that he was supposed to meet up at the nearest first class lounge once he arrived. After easily finding his way to one such lounge, he quickly noticed its strange looking design. It could be summed up by being placed in a room where an artist was given a vast sum of money, and told to do whatever he wanted with the building, just as long as it was able to be put to use.

Amidst the high-class furniture and seating was a short, intelligent-looking, white-haired man, thankfully wearing a Black Mesa shirt under his formal suit. The man immediately saw Alan, and stood up to greet him as he moved closer to where he was sitting. The man neared Alan, and let his hand out for him to shake.

"You must be Alan Walker." The man said, following his greeting with a thorough handshake. "David Giles, Black Mesa. Welcome to Michigan Mr. Walker. I'm sure you don't need any further instruction on what you're about to undertake." He said, backing away from Alan.

Alan scratched the back of his neck. "Actually, I think it would be nice if I had a little refresher. It may be that the jet lag's getting to me, or it may be because I didn't listen very much during my briefing." He said, taking a seat on one of the comfy black leather chairs positioned nearby.

David sighed, and decided to take a seat as well. "Mr. Walker, you do know where you'll be conducting your operation don't you?" He asked, worried that Alan may be a bit unsure about what he was really getting into.

"Yeah, I think they told me enough." Alan said, rolling his eyes at the thought of that boring evaluation he took the day before. "All they asked for me to do was to check out Aperture's new 'discovery'."

David shifted in his seat, taking a small card out of his pocket. "That wasn't what I asked." He said, handing Alan the card. "What I asked is do you know _where_ you'll be headed once were finished having this conversation."

Alan took the card from David's hand. By the looks of it, it was some sort of security card, with his name on it and everything. On the top left corner was an Aperture Science logo, and underneath that was kept his security clearance code. "Interesting… Do I really look that bad in my photos?" He asked, shocked at the disgusting display of his face on the right side of the card.

"Mr. Walker…"

"Oh, yes…" Alan scanned his mind for any memory about the specific area he was assigned to. "I… all I remember was them saying something about an Enrichment Center." He said, suddenly realizing how misinformed he was. "That's… really all I was told about the place."

David shook his head. "I'm afraid that's not enough knowledge for you to go by." He said, folding his arms across one another. "What I'm really here for is to make sure you're prepared for what you're about to face." He got up from his chair and walked over towards the nearby bar. "You're about to depart on a limo to a place that's wildly different from Black Mesa. The people there may be the weirdest you've ever met, and that's not even counting their technology."

Alan took a seat next to David on one of the luxury barstools. "What do you mean, exactly?"

David took a deep breath and looked gloomily upon the floor. "Mr. Walker, we don't know what exactly we're dealing with, but whatever it is may just put Aperture up on top for the portal race." He said, now staring Alan straight in the eyes. "And whatever it is, we need you to go check it out, and make sure they don't have anything that could change the status of them being second." David said as he turned to face an approaching bartender.

The bartender was waiting for someone to order, as he'd been idly standing around, waiting for something significant to happen, and customers always _were_ significant. He came closer to them, and put his hand down on the counter. "Anything I can get for you two?" He asked, still somehow managing to clean cups even though they were off to his side, and out of his line of sight.

David bit his lip and changed the subject on his mind to a slightly different matter. "Yes, can you tell me what that red thing over there is?" He asked, pointing to a large red bottle situated at the end of the bar.

The bartender examined the bottle for a total of two seconds before answering. "That there's our fine Ultra deluxe cranberry surprise" He said, smiling as if he'd had fond memories of it from his childhood. "Are you sure you want something so strong?"

"Yeah whatever." David said, waving his hand. "Oh, and no drinks for this fellow here." He added, pointing his thumb at Alan.

"What! I'm twenty-seven! I can…"

"I'm sorry Mr. Walker, but since you're already about to step into the unfathomable depths of insanity, I think it's best you do your best to stay away from it as long as possible." David said, disappointing Alan's intention on having one last enjoyable moment before throwing himself straight at Aperture. "Sorry but no drinks for yo- Ohh! Look at how bright it is!"

After a few minutes of going over proper protocol, procedures, and a little more briefing, David finished up his drink, and led Alan to what appeared to be a back entrance to the lounge. A sign by the door read: "VIP pickup"

"Well Mr. Walker, I'm afraid this is where we must part ways." David said, patting Alan on the back. "But before we go, there's one thing I must tell you." He said, putting both his arms behind his back. "Whatever it is you see there, even if it doesn't look like much, is valuable information, and must be identified. Also remember that everyone there is on your side, and you don't have to fear them. Fear causes suspicion, and suspicion causes things to be figured out." He said, leaning on a side railing in front of a solid metal door. "We expect you to be back in a week or so at most. Once you're finished at Aperture, return to our offices and give us a full detailed report on what you found."

"Understood." Alan answered as he approached the metal door.

This was it, no more logic beyond this point. He took a deep breath as his hands reached forward to open the door. He was just about to open it until he heard David yell something back.

"Hold on!" David darted towards Alan. "There's something you're forgetting."

"What?" Alan asked, wondering if this "one more thing" craze would end soon.

"Your Black Mesa I.D." David responded, laying his hand out.

Alan reached into his wallet, and replaced his old Black Mesa I.D. with his new Aperture one, handing his old one to David. "Is there any way I can contact you if something goes wrong?" He asked, opening the door.

David smiled, taking control of the door. "Sorry, but you're on your own." He said in an almost maniacal manner. It was as if the man was glad it wasn't him that had to face Aperture head on. The doors closed, creating a highly audible lock sound on the door. Alan turned around to face a limousine with an Aperture logo pasted carelessly on the side door.

'_Well, here goes nothing…'_

Alan stepped into the limo, much to his surprise; there were four other people inside as well. He gave a modest wave to them as if expecting them to wave back. "Uh… hi?" he said, confused on whether Aperture had a higher form of greeting.

The Aperturians didn't say anything, but instead kept their eyes focused on the ground. Alan took a seat next to one who looked like he'd been traumatized over and over again. "A fine day we're having, isn't it?" Alan asked, trying to get someone to say something. "It's a good day for science!" He announced, now grabbing some attention throughout the limo.

The oversized car started to move, prompting Alan to find a more suitable position. "Is anyone here ready for science?" he asked, worried that he may have been accidentally stuffed into a car filled with deaf people. "Really? Is someone going to say something? Anything?"

One man at the edge of the limo took a deep breath, and much to Alan's surprise, spoke with a confident and commanding voice. "Mr. Walker, I'm sure any and all questions you have will be answered once we reach the Enrichment Center." he said, comforting Alan's deaf theory. "All the test subjects aren't allowed to say anything unless I explicitly certify them to do so."

Alan looked around the limo. Next to him was a thin, bony man, shaking as if he were one of those 0.7 percent of people that just so happened to react to that "skin lotion". On the opposite side was another man who looked like he'd ditched emotions for silence long ago. Sitting next to the only man who decided to speak up was of all things, a woman. Although instead of sitting around and staring blankly at the floor, she had an excuse for her quietness due to the fact that she was asleep. And of course, the man whom just shocked Alan by saying something was an older man with a face that screamed science.

Alan leaned back in disappointment. "I'm sorry, I was just trying to excite everyone with science." he said, making the sad look on his face obvious for anyone who looked.

The man grabbed his scientist's outfit, and replied back in a reassuring tone. "Yep, you're definitely from our Ohio offices. They're all cocky before they reach the Enrichment Center, but that's before all the science is sucked out of them." He said, cupping his hands and motioning it to and from his ear.

Alan recalled the quick back story he was assigned. Since Aperture barely cared about security anywhere away from the Enrichment Center, it was much easier to make it look like he was from somewhere else, while still being employed with Aperture. His fake affiliation with Aperture was that he was from their offices in Ohio. Doing this along with a bunch of other outlets meant it was much easier to forge an I.D. for him since he was technically outside of Aperture's main focus.

"But since we called you up here for you're in-depth knowledge of the quantum field, you'll be sharing your knowledge as we share ours. And not only that, but I hear the new…" The man froze mid-sentence. "Oh never mind you'll understand once we've reached the Enrichment Center." he said, waving his hand as if he were trying to shoo away something unpleasant. "Which should be in only an hour!"

~X~X~X~X~X~

After an hour the limo finally started to slow down, and make a few adjustment turns. The ride up there reminded Alan of one of those road trips that never seem to end, and once it does, your legs insist on having the strength of pudding as you pitifully try to step out of the car.

Throughout the long ride, Alan had been staring outside the window, in hope of seeing a giant "Aperture Science" sign, leading them into a theme park style parking lot. Whenever he looked outside the limo's windows, all he could see were trees, an endless stream of towering trees. He quietly sat down, folding his arms in wait.

"We're almost there…" The scientist said, almost exploding with excitement. "I bet you can't wait until you enter the center for the first time! The expression on your face has to be priceless! When you see the incredible hub, the massive facility, even when you see the new projects they're working on, it'll be an amazing first sight for you! I wonder where they'll take you first, or if they'll show you…"

"Sir…" The interruption came from the driver's seat. He'd just lowered the tinted window in order to converse. "We're here at the gate." He said, laying his hand out in wait.

"Oh, yes…" The man on the opposite side of the limo handed Alan his I.D.

Alan followed by taking his own card out, and handing it to the driver. Now all that was left to do was wait for them to be approved.

He could overhear the driver's conversation with the gatekeeper, as he waited for them to keep moving. "That's right ma'am, two scientists, and three test subjects. No ma'am… yes I noticed… Thank you ma'am… good day to you too…" The driver retrieved the cards from the gatekeeper, and handed them back to Alan. With a quick glance of the card, he was able to read the scientist's name, placed in a similar position to that on his own card.

"So, Dr. Vernon," Alan said, speaking out the name placed on the card. "How long have you been with Aperture?"

Vernon, surprised to hear his name, leaned back and scratched his head. "I do remember telling you that all questions will be answered once you reach the Enrichment Center… but I guess it won't hurt." he said, contemplating something over in his head. "If you really want to know, I've been with Aperture for about thirty-four years. I remember being a young scientist much like you, but back then we knew so little." He said, looking like he was recalling fond memories of stupidity. "But I'm afraid this conversation is a bit one sided. Tell me Mr. Walker, how long have _you _been with Aperture?"

'_Damnit, why did he have to ask?_' Alan thought as his mind completely blanked before him. "Uhh… six years…" He answered, hoping the lie would be able to slip through unnoticed.

"Oh really? That must mean you've familiarized yourself with how Aperture works, correct?"

"Not really. That would be true if it meant coming into work every day to find your boss rambling about some strange project you've never heard of, expecting you to know what it's mechanics are, and wondering where that birthday present you forgot to give him is." Alan said, actually recalling some of his work at Black Mesa. "That's really all that goes on in the mysterious southern offices."

Dr. Vernon looked back at Alan with an amazed expression on his face. "That's really interesting Mr. Walker. I've always wanted to know what goes on down there. Thank you for sharing that information." He continued, nodding his head.

'_Yes! He bought it! I can't believe it was so easy!_' Alan thought as the limo came to a sudden stop. '_Wait, are we here? We can't be here already; the transition was too fast, what if…_'

"We're here…" The driver said, peeking into the back with a joyous smile. "Please exit through your Aperture Science approved limousine door." he said in a joking manner. The man stepped out, and opened the side door next to Alan. "Welcome to the Enrichment Center Mr. Walker."

"Dah! Who said that!" The woman who was sleeping next to Dr. Vernon jerked awake, gripping her head with her hands. "Who's he?" She asked, pointing at Alan. "Is he… oh… I slept through all that! How long have I been out? What time is it? Is it dinner time? Are we having meatloaf again? Wait, are we here already?"

Dr. Vernon moved closer to the woman. "I'd say you've been out for a good three hours test subject seven nine zero four eight. This here is Mr. Walker, he's from our Aperture offices in Ohio, and he's… fluent in our current field. It's precisely 22:16 hours, which is not dinner time. We're not having meatloaf, and you've already eaten dinner. And to answer your last question," He stepped out of the limo, and laid his hand out towards the test subject. "Yes, we're here."

"Oh wow, I don't remember the last time I saw the beautiful facility in such dazzling light! Look at the pretty building!"

"Now now, seven nine zero four eight, I won't have any more of this… talking, do you understand?" Dr. Vernon asked to a much disappointed test subject.

"Yes sir…"

"Good. Now, Mr. Harper." Dr. Vernon said, turning towards the limo driver. "Excellent driving as always, and as usual, I expect you to escort these fine test subjects back to their according to each of their designated areas."

"Yes Dr. Vernon. I'll make sure each of them reaches their… destination." The driver said with an ominous smile. And with that, the man led the test subjects off in their own direction.

Alan stepped out of the limo, visualizing the area in front of him. It didn't take long before he became confused as to whether he should be surprised or confused by the colossal yet mundane scene before him.

Instead of a giant stories high research center, there was a quaint, medium sized building which held the only substantial light in any direction. Back towards the direction they came from was a small parking gate leading back to the outside world. Surrounding the entire area however a massive fence, stretching much farther than Alan was able to see.

"Follow me Mr. Walker." Dr. Vernon said, motioning for Alan.

"Is _this _reallythe Enrichment Center?" Alan asked, unimpressed at the dull looking center.

Dr. Vernon led Alan closer and closer to the building. "No, just wait until you see the real facility." he said, leading him towards the facility doors. Around the doors was a giant Aperture logo, encircling the only visible way inside. Walking through the giant metal logo signified officially entering enemy territory. As he moved past the logo, and into the wide open welcoming area, the outside world instantly became cold and uninviting. Inside the center, there were many different desks and offices. Security was tighter than he'd ever seen back at Black Mesa.

All in all, the place wasn't as packed as Alan thought it would be. Of course, this was the entrance, who knew how many people were placed further into the facility. Looking around, he could see a few employees walking around, security personnel, and even a few possible test subjects waiting in line. The entrance area also had two floors on it, the top one overlooking the large gap split between each of them. He nearly lost himself in the amazing scenery; the strange, modern design was a feast for the eyes. He almost headed straight towards where the other test subjects were, but before he was able to get far enough, Dr. Vernon spoke up.

"Don't worry about those common entrances," He said, leading Alan towards a more fine area restricted to official Aperture employees. "We'll be taking the VIP entrance."

Dr. Vernon now moved towards a nearby desk.

Alan followed Dr. Vernon closely as if he was the only person he couldn't trust at the moment. Dr. Vernon then proceeded to flash his card to a receptionist at the desk. The receptionist immediately recognized him as one of the common scientists. Pressing a button, she then let him through the security gate. "I hope to see you later Mr. Walker." he said, heading towards an elevator. "I can tell we have a lot of talking that needs to be done." Dr Vernon waved towards Alan, as he stepped into an empty elevator, and soon headed towards the unknown.

'_Great… now I'm stuck in a room with insane scientists, and I don't have any idea on what to do, or where to go…_' Alan looked around desperately for any clear sign of direction. After a couple seconds of contemplating, he decided it was best to just head towards the desk and start asking questions.

He moved closer towards the same receptionist that Vernon had easily passed through. "Umm… excuse me, I'm here from the Ohio offices… and I was wondering where you could direct me to?" He asked, instantly regretting that he sounded like a complete idiot while speaking to her.

The woman stared into Alan's eyes as if she hadn't seen any new faces in months. "I'm sorry… did you say you were from our Ohio offices?" She asked, sending a pulse of discomfort throughout Alan's body.

"Uh… yes… I am… from there… the Ohio offices… in Ohio…" Alan said like an even bigger moron this time.

"Sir, is this your first time here at the Enrichment Center?" The woman asked, receiving only Alan's signature stupid nod as a reply. "In that case, you'll need to fill out form 9-42C, the outward employee introductory ingression form." She said, handing Alan a paper.

'_You're kidding me!_' Alan thought as he took the paper from the receptionist's hand. "Wait, all I have to do is fill out this form and you'll let me through?" he asked, slightly relieved at the thought.

"Well that depends on what you have to do." The receptionist said, tying back her long, blonde hair. "Now go fill that out, and return to me when you've finished." She said, handing Alan a pencil to write with.

'_Well that went smoothly…_'

Alan moved over towards a counter positioned between the two different types of entrances. Bringing his pencil in contact with the paper, he began writing down on the form of madness.

'_Let's see, name, that's an easy one. Hah! I'm already a tenth of the way down the page! Hmm… alright… _

"_Is this your first time at the Enrichment Center?" Yes, of course it is, otherwise I wouldn't be filling out this form. _

"_Is the Enrichment Center welcoming entrance in need of important furnishing?" _Alan looked all around the modern looking building. _Definite no._

"_What do you intend on bringing to the Enrichment Center?" Science of course._

"_What's your favorite kind of cake?" What? What kind of… carrot cake I guess._

"_Are you in any way shape or form involved with Black Mesa?" I wonder what they'd do if I said yes… nah, I'll just put down no. _

After a few minutes of tediously working on the insanely boring form, Alan returned to the receptionist at the desk, and handed her the paper. "Here you go, I'm ready for science!" He said, trying to pass off as an Aperture scientist.

The woman looked at the form for a good few seconds, and returned her eyes to focus on Alan once more. "Very well Mr. Walker. Where do you plan on heading today?" The woman asked.

"Well, all I can remember them telling me is about that weird quantum breakthrough… or something." Alan answered, shrugging.

"Oh, well then why didn't you just say so?" The woman immediately pressed the button to let Alan through the security gate. "The room you're looking for is the fifth one on the left, down the hallway over there." She said, pointing towards Alan's future destination. "Good luck Mr. Walker." she said, waving as if they were friends.

'_Now THAT was second strangest thing I've had to do all day…_ _stupid airline food._'

Alan sighed and continued past the exceptionally large elevators. Who knew how far down they really went? He neared the door to the hallway, but instead of having to open it manually, the jet black doors slid open as if they were horizontal curtains, opening into a hallway that stretched for well over fifty meters.

The black and white hallway was lit by circular bulbs emitting light from a similar source. Moving down towards the fifth door on the left, Alan reached towards the handle, but before he could carry through with opening it, he saw a desperate employee sprinting down the hallway.

"Oh no, oh no…" Alan turned around to see a young woman with long brown hair rush towards him in panic. The woman was carrying a strange, white box in her hands, and by the looks of it, she didn't want to keep it. "Here take it, no questions asked, just give it to him." The woman handed Alan the box, and at first he pushed it away, not wanting to carry a random box. "No! You must give it to him! I need to get to my destination in negative four minutes!" She exclaimed, this time just shoving the box in his hands instead and rushing off to another door on the right.

'_Yep, that definitely wins number 2 on the strange things I've seen today list!_'

Now with a mysterious box in his hand, Alan motioned back his right hand back towards the door, keeping hold of the box in his other hand. Listening closely, he could hear a man's voice coming from behind the door. Slowly opening the door, he quietly closed it behind him, revealing an older looking room with a wooden finish. Paintings and newspapers lined the walls, contrasting with the grand appearance the room was giving off.

In the center of the room was an elderly, gray haired man, coughing and sputtering as he yelled into a telephone. "I told you to get those lemons into the testing area by Tuesday! No, we haven't been able to build a successful model. Oh yeah? Well tell them to try fitting it inside a watermelon, and then we'll talk about releasing it." The man looked up from the phone and saw Alan standing by the door. The man neared the telephone once more. "I'll need to talk to you *cough* later, I think they're here." He said, putting the phone down.

"So…" The man said, motioning his hand for Alan to bring him the box. "Don't just stand there, give them here!" He said, ripping the box from his hand. Opening the box, his eyes lit up as he dove into its contents. "By the way, *cough* who on earth are you? I really need to tell Caroline to stop hiring so many people off the street."

"I'm… the guy from the Ohio offices… ready for science…" Alan answered, mentally face palming himself.

"That's the spirit!" the man said, letting out a massive cough. At first Alan thought the man was dying, but he got right back up as if nothing had happened. The man moved closer and reached his hand out to shake Alan's.

"I'm Cave Johnson, I own the place."

~X~X~X~X~X~

Author's notes: **So… do you likes? I know this looks like a generic story so far, but trust me, you'll either dismiss this as a piece of garbage or a wonderful piece of art. Who knows?**

**Oh yeah, and ****DON'T ****expect for the rest of the chapters to be this long. This was the first chapter and I needed an introduction so your poor little brains wouldn't barrage me with confusing PM's. **


	2. Sweet Revelation

Author's notes: **Hey, its me again, (hooray!) and if you've really read this far, good for you, I like the little self-esteem boost I get when I see people enjoy something I do. Other than that, I will warn you it gets a little… confusing soon, so… first person who guesses will get free cookies! (or cake, if you prefer)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Portal or Half-life, those belong to the Valve Corporation. If I did own it however, you'd most likely be playing Half-life 3 right now, but that's a different story.**

~X~X~X~X~X~

"Own the place?" Alan asked as he gradually became more worried about the fact that Cave looked like he could die at any second.

"Of course I do. Don't the guys at the Ohio offices ever tell you who's really in charge?" Cave asked, coughing violently once more as he turned towards an intercom. He soon pressed the button and began speaking into it. "Jane, don't forget to *cough* tell Caroline to come up here and *cough* show our guest around," he said, lifting his finger off the speak button, and leaned back on his chair. "So, you're ready to make some science, Mr.-"

"Walker, Alan Walker."

"That's right… Well then Dr. Walker, *cough* are you ready to make some science?"

Alan cringed at hearing those words. "Please don't call me Dr.," he said, closing his eyes as he shook in fear. "Mr. will do just fine," he said, not wanting to take the name of his insane uncle.

Back when he was a child, whenever Alan would go to the doctor's office, sure enough, his uncle was waiting for him. His uncle was the creepiest person he'd ever met. His sentences were filled with whimsical nonsense; his eyes looked like they'd been washed over many times with soap, and his voice… his voice. Alan remembered having nightmares where he'd discover his uncle was actually trying to get him, and that each time they'd meet, it would always be another opportunity to horrify him with his demonic sounding voice.

"I just… have bad memories of the name Dr. Walker," Alan said, holding his arm as if he were scared that a monster would leap out of one of the wall paintings.

"I see Mr. Walker…" Cave said as if he knew what Alan was talking about. "But I'm afraid you didn't answer my question. Are you ready for some science?"

'_Not if the "science" involves skin lotion.'_

Alan took a seat in front of the Cave's desk. "Uh, yes sir. The only problem is," he leaned closer to Cave, and laid his hands out to the side. "I honestly don't know what type of science we're going to make. You see, they didn't really tell me much besides the fact tha..."

"Didn't tell you? Well then I'll tell you." Cave interrupted, grabbing his chin. "The reason we called you up here is well… *cough* you're familiar with different forms of quantum studies, correct?" he asked, laying his hands out, as he gave another distorted coughing sound.

"Uh… yes sir." Alan said confidently. He really was familiar with different quantum technologies, but at Black Mesa, the advances may have been different than what they knew at Aperture. "I've worked in the quantum field for quite a while," he answered, instantly picking his brain for all of his inward knowledge. "So tell me, what is it exactly that you've found?"

Cave smiled, and looked over towards the different paintings kept on the wall, particularly one with a middle-aged brown haired woman situated next to him in the background. "Those *cough* specific questions will be answered shortly, but I'll try and explain it to a point where *cough* you don't have to see it to believe it," he said, rolling his eyes. "Mr. Walker, do you know anything about quantum rifts?" he asked, keeping one eyebrow higher than the other.

"Well Mr. Johnson, I do know some rudimentary principles," Alan noted. "Whether you're actually talking about more of the practical sustained dimension rifts, quantum tunnels, or even the very rare, magnetic field disruptors, I may know a thing or two," he said, showing that he was in fact properly informed in the area.

"I could barely even *cough* understand what you said," Cave said, impressed at Alan's knowledge. "But it sounds good," he said, nodding optimistically. "I can tell you're properly infused with science."

"Uh, thank you." Alan said, boosting himself with hopes that maybe it wasn't going to be that hard. Perhaps he'd been stressing out for nothing, maybe it was all just a big misunderstanding and that Aperture hadn't really gotten that big of a breakthrough.

"How do you feel about going through one?"

"What?" Alan almost jerked out of his seat, only to be halted by the constant pressure of trying to act inconspicuous. "Are you insane?"

"No I just *cough* *cough*," Cave spiraled into a state of uncontrollable high pitched convulsions. "It's just… what if I told you that in the near future, you could experience two different types of quantum fields, firsthand?" he asked, catching some skeptical interest from Alan.

"I'd say it sounds highly unlikely… and dangerous," Alan said, a bit unsure about Aperture having the technology to produce two different types of portals, let alone the part about going through a breakage in space.

"Don't worry Mr. *cough* Walker, it's been tried many times and has shown to be safe, that is, the tunneling variant." Cave turned his attention back towards the white box he'd recently opened. He took out a large package of red pills. "But I'm afraid I won't be able to guide you through it." He said, swallowing one of the brightly colored pills.

Alan watched Cave toss back the pills like popcorn, a sight which quickly made him feel uneasy. "And what about that other type of quantum field you talked about?" he asked, shrinking away from the box.

"Oh trust me," Cave said, grabbing hold of the box and storing it in a nearby drawer. "You'll be *cough* getting enough of that." He said, looking over Alan's shoulder, and towards the only entrance to the room. "And here she comes now…"

Alan turned around to hear the sound of a door opening, accompanied with the sight of a woman standing in the doorway. It was the woman from the painting Cave was staring at. Perhaps she would be able to actually answer some of Alan's questions. She had long brown hair, just as she had in the painting, she did look aged, most likely in her fifties, and she was wearing an Aperture lab coat over what appeared to be a fine dress. "Here I am Mr. Johnson!" She said in a surprisingly young- sounding voice.

"Ah, there you are *cough* Caroline. I trust you're ready to guide Mr. Walker to the…" Cave froze, holding the sentence back as if he didn't know what to say.

"Yes Mr. Johnson." Caroline said, walking closer and closer towards Alan. "I'll take him there immediately," she said, taking Alan's hand and whisking him off the chair and out of the room.

"Wait, where are we going?" Alan wondered, not liking the fact he was being taken along for a ride against his will.

"To show you what you're here for." Caroline said, excited.

"Oh and Caroline…" Cave said once the two scientists had reached the door.

"Yes Mr. Johnson?"

"Be sure to take him to the CTI and get him… familiarized, will you?"

"Yes Mr. Johnson." Caroline said, answering with even more enthusiasm than before. She led Alan out of the room, and back into the uniform hallway outside.

"What's the CTI?" Alan asked, wondering if they were going to put him through horrifying test experiments.

Caroline led Alan to a white, circular elevator positioned inside one of the hallway's indents. Stepping inside, she pressed one of the elevator's few buttons. "That would be the Co-operative Testing Initiative," she said just as the elevator closed its doors.

With a swift hiss, the elevator began to descend deeper into the facility.

"So, Dr. Wal-"

"Call me Mr.," Alan interrupted.

"Ok then… Mr. Walker, I hear this is your first time at the Enrichment Center. Are you excited?" Caroline asked, wanting an answer as if she needed it to power her bright smile.

"About what?" Alan asked, still confused on why everyone was keeping so many secrets. "I still have no idea what you brought me in for, all I know is it has something to do with quantum fields and…" Alan's eyes weren't prepared for what he was about to see.

Without any warning, the glass window in the elevator revealed a massive expanse of huge black cubic structures, which was a drastic change from the dark, earthy picture recently in front of them.

Vernon was right, Alan's face _did_ look priceless, and he was thoroughly shocked at the immense sight.

"About that…" Caroline remarked, delighted to see Alan's reaction to what Aperture really looked like on the inside. "Most people do the exact same thing when they see it for the first time." She said, laying her hand out as if to guide Alan's eyes to a lone area. "Doesn't it just _scream_ science?"

"Uh… yeah, it… definitely does." Alan said, trying to sound as trustworthy as possible. "May I ask where it is we're headed?"

Caroline looked over towards the side of the elevator. "I think it's over there, Mr. Walker." She pointed towards an area not too far from where they were that was closed off from the rest. Instead of having it set up for testing, it looked like it was built with a very different purpose in mind. "Before we have you evaluated, we'll show it to you."

"It?" Alan asked, hoping he'd be answered with a more solid response than open implications.

The elevator came to a soft yet sudden stop. In front of them was a concrete wall, with a blue stripe running across the bottom. The glass door in front of the elevator opened automatically, prompting Caroline to press a button on the elevator to make its own do the same.

"Ladies first…" Alan said, letting Caroline move first into a long corridor that strangely reminded him somewhat of the compact ones found at Black Mesa.

"Why thank you!" Caroline said with a cheery expression on her face. "You're so sweet…"

Alan tried to contain the voice inside him that would always make him all giggly inside. He loved being called sweet and adorabl- '_NO! NO! Must resist!'_ Alan's thought's were about to initiate an all out war before he intervened. '_Focus… I'm not here to become friends; I'm here to disrupt their progress. Although it would be interesting to develop some sort of- NO! I'm not doing it!_'

"Are you ok Mr. Walker?" Caroline asked, looking into Alan's eyes as if there was something stuck in it.

"Wha- what?" Alan snapped back into reality, in front of him was a metal high security door. Apparently, they reached their destination while Alan was debating with himself. "Were here already?"

"Yes… are you alright? You seemed to have zoned out a bit there." Caroline said, taking out her card and sliding it through a small opening in the thick door's control panel.

Alan of course didn't want to make himself look stupid, and so began the brief and futile search for an excuse. "It's nothing; I do that all the time…" He said.

'_NOOO! Wrong choice of words!_'

Caroline nodded, and placed her hand on the solid steel doorknob. She opened the door, exposing Alan to a large office filled with scientists, all checking closely on different instruments. Some of them were looking at screens, polygraphs, and even compasses. The room was, above all, loud. Scientists were yelling information to others from across the room. There were a couple doors in the room, one of them were most likely for storage, and the other one had a sign on it saying "observation area". On the far end of the room was an area which was completely empty, with an airtight metal door similar to the one used to enter the office.

"Stay here…" Caroline said, walking towards the center of the room, capturing the attention of some of the less busy scientists. "Attention everybody, I'd like to introduce to you all, Mr. Walker." She said, now calling for everybody's undivided focus. "He's from our Ohio offices, and he's ready for science!" she yelled with the swing of her arm.

The scientists all started nodding their heads and simultaneously clapped for Alan. '_So much for keeping a low profile._' Before the room could spiral into an uproar, Alan lifted his hand. Once everyone saw his hand of power so high up, they concentrated solely on what it was he had to say. "Ahem… I still have no idea what the big deal is." He said, showing his genuine lack of situational knowledge.

The whole room now turned back to Caroline, who was now showing signs of giddiness. "Well then why don't I show you?" she asked, immediately throwing the entire room back into a state of constant occupation. Instead of having everyone focus on what they were doing before however, they each instead started working towards the same goal. Alan watched as some of the scientists retreated into an observation room, meanwhile some of the others scurried off towards the maintenance room.

"What are they doing?" Alan asked, watching everybody who wasn't headed towards the maintenance room rush to the observation area. "Where are we going? What's that they're bringing?" he could see two Aperture employees carrying what appeared to be the hazmat suits speeding towards him and Caroline. They wasted no time in unfolding the suits and presenting them to both Alan and Caroline. They didn't look like normal hazmat suits however; they were much darker and seemed to be made out of a carbon fiber like material.

Alan closely watched Caroline put her suit on, and followed suit (pun intended). After about a minute of fitting the airtight suit onto his body, a couple lab boys scanned for any imperfections. This made Alan wonder what he was really getting into. Why did they need so much protection? Whatever the answer was, it would be found out very soon.

"Clear, this one's sealed." One of them said, examining Caroline's suit.

"This one's good as well." The lab boys both nodded at each other and headed towards the door to the observation area. "You're good miss Caroline."

"Thank you boys…" Caroline said, waving them goodbye. The boys smiled and waved back at Caroline.

"She's so sweet." One of them said, closing the door behind them.

Caroline turned back towards Alan. "Well then, shall we proceed?" She asked, laying her fully gloved hand out towards the massive sealed door.

"After you…"

"Aww, you are _so sweet_!" Caroline giggled as she ran towards the door even though she was in a full protection suit. "Double gloves!" she said, taking a pair from a glass container on the wall.

Alan slipped on the thick leather gloves. They were obviously meant for protection, but from what?

"We're ready, you can let us in." Alan turned to see Caroline speaking into an internal radio.

Alan's heart began to race as he waited to see what lied behind the door. His plastic visor offered little peripheral vision, and now all he could see was the large metal door. Slowly the oval shaped door began to go through a series of unlocking mechanisms, and finally, it got to the point where it was moving. The door creaked open with the foreboding sound of hydraulics struggling to push the heavy weight open. Now that the door was clear, Caroline stepped inside, motioning for Alan to follow.

Inside the dark, open concrete space was a wide distorting glass screen off to the left. Alan could make out a few human shaped figures moving around behind the glass shield, which he figured to be the observation area. In front of him was an assortment of instruments, polygraphs, radios, magnets, showing a very similar sight to the one seen outside, back in the office. But the main thing that gravitated attention in the room was something Alan would never expect, something he could never imagine being of such importance. It wasn't some inter-dimensional blob of mass, it wasn't some strange Aperture skin lotion, it wasn't anything of the sort.

Instead, it was a book, lying on a slanted table at the end of the room.

"A book? This is what the big deal is all about?" Alan questioned. He neared closer towards the odd looking book. A faded green cover and black spine was the more obvious features, however, upon further inspection, Alan could make out some words arranged near the top.

The first letter was the most visible, undoubtedly an M. The second one was much more faded, he could probably narrow the letter down if he had the time. The third letter was a lost cause, as it was completely gone. The fourth and last letter was either an I or a T, he couldn't tell.

Alan looked back to see Caroline, standing in wait. "This is why we didn't tell you before Mr. Walker. We thought you wouldn't believe it." She said, moving towards a bunch of scientific instruments. "As you can see, these things go crazy the closer they get to the book. A little magnetic disruption here, a little quantum rift here." she said, going on and on about things Alan had only heard about in theoretical studies.

"But how? It's just a book! Why do we need these hazmat suits? Why do we need these gloves?"

Caroline gave another one of her warming smiles. "Open it."

Alan lifted his hands towards the book's cover. Its hardcover binding felt fragile to the touch, so Alan made sure to be careful while opening it. He opened in on the first page, and almost jumped back once he saw what was on it. "What the? How does it…" he saw what appeared to be static coming from a rectangular section on the page. Not static electricity, but instead the static that looked just like what you'd see if your TV was on a non-existent channel. Instead of being black and white however, the static was covered in reds and greens and yellows, all brushing against a vast darkened expanse.

Alan turned the page to see what may lie behind it, what could be creating the strange static. However, after turning page after page, all he could see was nothing, only the strange sight coming from the first. "What… what is it?" he asked, staring straight into the mesmerizing screen-like moving picture.

WARNING! THESE NEXT PARAGRAPHS MAY CONTAIN EXTENSIVE AMOUNTS OF NONSENSICAL PSEUDO-SCIENCE. IF YOU WISH TO SEE A PROPERLY TRANSLATED VERSION, SEE ENDING AUTHOR'S NOTES.

Caroline took the book from Alan's hand, and placed it back on its stand. "We believe this book is somehow sustaining a quantum rift within its first page. We don't have too much understanding of how it works exactly, but were sure of one thing," she added, moving towards a machine that had a small sensor attached to it. "We believe it runs through a different quantum field than our own. We can tell firstly by the different magnetic signature running from the book. Most organic or even life-like material that touches the sustained rift is instantly taken over to the other side. It's a strange phenomenon, we're not even sure how the rift works in the first place, but with careful studying we've almost been able to reverse engineer a similar mechanism."

Alan turned his head back towards the strange book. How could it hold something so complex? It was just a book. That also begged the question, who on earth made the book? Surely it had to be someone with some knowledge of quantum field imprinting, but technology for that would be scientifically unattainable for at least the next fifty years.

"When you said organic life, were you implying that you'd like to send… humans?" he asked, wondering if this whole thing would take a turn for the worst.

"You're very perceptive Mr. Walker." Caroline said, removing her hand from a large metallic instrument. "But before you get the chance to ask, I will tell you that we've been able to send some robots over to the other side. We're only able to get pulse readings instead of streaming ones because of weak signal between the rifts, but from what we can tell, the environment over there seems to be strikingly similar to ours," she said, covering the book with some sort of rough black cloth. "According to our readings, it would practically feel the same being over there compared to here. The only real differences are changes in air pressure, temperature and such. Even those have been detected to be almost the same."

END OF SCIENCE

Alan stared at the covered book, with an uneasy feeling going through his chest. Would he really be sent through a quantum rift? Especially one that was on a different field? Slowly, he turned back to face Caroline. "This… is all very overwhelming. Never before have I seen such a thing. Would you tell me, how exactly you plan on sending me through?" he asked, wondering if Aperture was really just banging rocks together.

"Now that's a nifty question Mr. Walker!" Caroline answered. "And you'll be surprised to find out that you'll not only be sent over there to study the environment and to advance science, but you'll also get an opportunity to do science right now!" she said in a jubilant manner. "We'll worry about the book later, but for now, you'll be headed to the CTI to begin your evaluation!"

Caroline activated her internal radio. "Jim, we're coming out." She said, speaking towards the silhouettes behind the rippled glass window. "Yes, I think he's excited…" she said, glancing towards Alan. "That's right; we'll be headed for the CTI after this… yes you can open it now." Caroline turned off her radio, and walked through the empty part of the medium room, closer and closer towards the door. "That was Dr. Hughes, he's so sweet. And yes, you're sweet as well."

Alan let that last sentence fly over his head as he followed her from behind.

"There's so much more we can talk about," Caroline said as the door slowly began its opening routine. "But I hope you don't mind the slight detour."

Alan, not wanting to reject Caroline's kind suggestion, accepted it without adding any thought. "Oh don't worry about it. At least I'll still be advancing science." he said, noticing the doors were halfway open.

~X~X~X~X~X~

Alan carefully removed the last of his hazmat suit. At first, He was worried that they'd isolate him to make sure he was completely clean of any outer-dimensional material. But instead, all he had to do was hand it to a couple of lab boys who then proceeded to store it back where it came from.

Now that the state of lockdown had been released, Alan scanned the room for any sign of Caroline, who'd been able to remove her suit surprisingly quicker than Alan did. Eventually, he found her walking around, talking with none other than Dr. Vernon.

"Ah there you are," Caroline said, stepping back to show Dr. Vernon. "I heard that you've already met with Dr. Vernon, he's one of the top administrators for the project." She said, nodding for Dr. Vernon to speak up.

"So Mr. Walker, how was it? Was it as stunning as you'd imagined?"

"I can't imagine how such a thing could be imagined." Alan answered. "It… just doesn't seem possible," he said, lowering his head in confusion.

"Well, I guess you better show him around, Miss Caroline. I just wish we had enough time to study this further."

Caroline looked towards a clock positioned above the entryway door. "Right, we should start immediately." She said, taking Alan's hand and leading him away from Dr. Vernon. "Thank you for your time Dr. Vernon, we'll be able to discuss the… details later." She shifted to a bleaker mood as she ended the sentence.

Caroline waved to Dr. Vernon, who was now occupying himself with other tasks. "Now then," Caroline said, heading towards the door. "Let's depart for the CTI."

~X~X~X~X~X~

Author's notes: **Yeah, I know I'm not that good, but hey, this is my first story. Anyways, if you don't know what series is hidden within this soon to be crossover, you may get really confused, so EDUCATE YOURSELVES! We still have the sweets available for whoever guesses the secondary series! Other than that, I hope you enjoyed! Please R & R!**

**And now, the part you've all been waiting for, the translated science scene! Initiate fanfare! Dun, da da da!**

**Caroline: "This book has a portal to another dimension on the first page." **


	3. Orientation

Author's notes: **Warning, this chapter is a little bor- focused on development; it's not the chapter where the hero escapes from the bad guys' base with the beautiful woman in hand. So if you were expecting something like that…**

~X~X~X~X~X~

Caroline nervously led Alan down another concrete hallway. "My, would you look at the time!" She said, showing him the face of her watch. "I don't want to keep the other subjects waiting on us."

'_OTHER subjects? Wait, does that make me a subject?_' Alan thought as the two soon reached an elevator much like the one used to bring them down.

Caroline took a key out from her pocket, and inserted it into a special opening in the elevator. When she turned the key, another slot opened, revealing a button that said "CTI". "I hope you're not too tired Mr. Walker, you'll be doing strenuous physical activity, as well as mental." She said, pushing the newly revealed button.

"Oh don't worry about that," Alan said, swaying his hand. "I'm sure I can handle it."

Caroline nodded as the elevator began to move. "They really didn't tell you much did they?" she asked, checking her watch to see how long it took for the elevator to go all the way down.

"Who?"

"The people at the Ohio offices silly…"

"Oh yeah… well…" Alan began his routine of coming up with utter BS. "All they really did was tell me that the Enrichment Center needed my knowledge on quantum fields. Since they probably wanted to get rid of me anyways, I think they didn't care much to inform me properly. The facility, the directions… the book." he said, grabbing his left arm with his right hand. "They hardly told me anything…"

"Hmm, interesting…" Caroline's hand grazed the side control panels of the elevator, seemingly ignoring Alan's story. "Mr. Walker, what sized shoe do you wear?" She asked, pressing one of the many bizarre red buttons.

"Twelve and a half."

"Oh my." Caroline backed away from the control panel. "I'm sorry, but we don't do halves here at Aperture, we're required to use proper integers." She said, striking a strange sense of confusion throughout Alan's mind. "I'm afraid you'll either have to go with broken ankle or circulation loss, it's your choice."

"Wh… What?" The slight implications drew Alan to believe they were going to fit him with Aperture shoes. He didn't know what Aperture shoes were, and it sounded like he didn't want to find out. Maybe they were specially made so that they could detect a Black Mesa spy from a mile away. Or maybe it was just one of those silly Aperture inventions.

Caroline giggled, and returned her hands back to the control panel. "I'm just kidding. Our boots come in all sizes; I was just wanted to see your reaction."

"O…k…"

The elevator soon stopped, and its folded doors opened up, exposing an area with two carpeted rows; one leading towards a test area, and the other leading towards an observation area. The room was lit by evenly placed white tiles, all giving off a luminous glow to the floor below. The observation area had a few people idly standing by, while the testing area appeared to by empty. Caroline rushed over towards the windowed entrance to the observation area. She sped back towards Alan with a pair of black and white boots. The boots were primarily white, with black lines running down the indented spaces. Caroline handed the odd looking boots to Alan.

"Put these on." She said, Alan immediately following her orders and replaced his rough, brown boots with the smooth, white ones. "We're already late, so let me fill you in with what you're going to do." Caroline led Alan to the empty row that preceded the testing area. "You'll be evaluated by going through a series of tests. These tests are meant to accurately depict your physical as well as mental awareness, along with a thorough understanding of Aperture equipment."

Alan sighed as he looked over towards the circular door that presumably opened up into a madhouse of insane scientist working with different glowing chemicals and performing with them on poor unfortunate test subjects.

"I'll be watching you as you move along. Fortunately for you and your associates, you won't have any of the more… troubling obstacles to worry about." She spoke the latter sentence as if she was a politician trying to hide an unfortunate truth. Her brief pause meant that she changed its intention midway. "You'll be alone for the first part of the test, being familiarized to your equipment with straight focus. As you progress, you'll meet up with other test subjects we've determined are physically and mentally perfect for the job. Just remember, each chamber has been passed before; and if you want a hint…" Caroline walked over towards the observation area. She moved further and further until she reached the upper floor, and was now looking down on Alan.

Alan could see her fiddling with various forms of sound devices. "If you want a hint, just listen to the other subjects, I believe they know what's going on…" Caroline said over the loudspeaker. "Now then, let's get straight to testing!"

Alan rolled his eyes as he faced the circular door in front of him, waiting for it to open up into a horrifying room of despicable creations.

"Its an automatic door, you need to get close in order for it to open…"

Alan rolled his eyes, and proceeded towards the door. It opened with ease, as a quick puff of air was all that was needed for the doors to push the two slits apart. He was surprised to find a small room with a red button on top of a pedestal positioned in the center. What an odd theme for a room to have.

The room was paneled completely with white surfaces; the only places where it was different were the doors each sitting on both ends of the room, as well as a glass window over to the left.

'_That must be the observation area…_' Alan thought, walking towards the button. '_Now what happens when I give it a good pre-_'

The smooth, plastic-like button sunk into the pedestal under the weight of Alan's hand. Alan raised his head in order to see segmented lines leading from the button to the door change its color from blue to orange. The door on the opposite side of the room opened as well, giving Alan the implication that maybe the test subjects didn't need to be that smart in order to move on. But maybe that was just a test, a test of button pressing skills.

"Excellent job…" Caroline's voice made its way through the room's hidden sound system. "That, was an Aperture stationary hand button. You'll be observing more of those further along the way. I think you've got the hang of it, so I'll leave you alone as you proceed."

'_Now let's see, In New Mexico, you go to work every day to study the complex mechanics of how the universe works. In Michigan, you go to work to press buttons._'

Alan shrugged as he headed towards the next door. This was going to be too easy. The next room looked very similar to the last one, but instead of having the button positioned on the pedestal, this time it was positioned oddly enough on the floor.

Alan figured the only way to move on was to put some sort of pressure on the button. Without needing to think any further, he proceeded to stand on the circular red button. As expected, the door opened at Alan's initiative, but he soon figured out that posed another problem. If he stepped off the button, the door would close. There was no way he'd be able to be at two places at once.

He searched the room from top to bottom. All there was besides the button he was currently standing on was a large rounded tube projecting from the ceiling. The glass tube looked large enough to fit a person; perhaps this would be his means of escape.

Alan carefully advanced towards the room's unique feature, only to leap back once it released something he would've never expected. Out from the tube came a black and grey cube that looked symmetrical from all sides. Alan slowly approached the soft edged cube, worried that it might explode if he handled it wrong.

"What are you so afraid of? Its not like it's a dangerous alien technology or anything, its just a cube." Caroline commented over the loudspeaker.

"Right…" Alan picked the cube off the ground. It felt surprisingly light, yet at the same time weighed him down pretty good. If only there was a way to transport them easier. He placed it on the button, and the door once again slid open. This time, a strange, blue flowing field was visible a few feet behind the door.

"That's an Aperture Science Material Emancipation Grill. It's meant to vaporize any unauthorized equipment that passes through it." Caroline said, describing the strange pale current standing in front of Alan.

"Am I authorized equipment?" Alan asked.

"Yes, you're authorized to pass through. Just remember not to take anything along with you as you go."

Alan cautiously made his way through the Emancipation Grill. It felt like walking through a thin film of syrup, and gave off a funny tickling feeling throughout Alan's skin. The feeling only lasted for about a tenth of a second, and once he tried sticking his hand back through, the sensation wasn't nearly as strong as it was the first time.

Alan soon lost interest in the mysterious blue threshold, and returned his attention back to testing.

The next room was much different than the previous ones. Instead of having a complicated button riddled puzzle, this one had a division of glass on the right side of the room. There wasn't any visible way over towards that side of the room, as there were no doors or openings in the glass. The door exiting the chamber was kept on a ledge approximately fifteen feet in height; there was no way Alan would be able to reach it following conventional solutions. Inside the glass area was another pedestal based button, just waiting to be pressed. At first Alan thought the best solution was to break the glass somehow, but his train of thought was interrupted once again by Caroline's voice.

"Hold on a second, we're having a small delay with the tunneling system." She said, directing Alan's eyes over towards two black lines at the end of the room, each containing glowing rectangular points parallel to each other. There were more of these things, one on the other side of the glass and another positioned near the exit.

Alan tapped his foot impatiently, waiting for something interesting to happen in order for him to move along.

"Ah there, we are…" Caroline said in a relieving tone. "It should be up within a few seconds."

The two black parallel bars emitted a bright orange flash, and out came something Alan had only speculated with his peers. The white wall changed from its flat looking surface into something that had much more depth. It looked like these two bars had just done something impossible; they'd created an opening in the wall that led to another area. Alan quickly figured out the area he could see through the strange rift led to the space within the glass.

"Now that your button pressing skills have been proven to be top notch, we'll see how you do when faced with a more complicated task."

Alan made his way over towards the orange opening in the wall. So it was true. Aperture did have a fully working quantum tunneling system in their possession. How long could they've been using this? Whatever it was, it didn't look good. It would most likely prove to be a major boost for Aperture.

He was soon standing directly in front of the orange oval.

He put his hand through.

It came out the other side.

He put his leg through, and it did the same.

As he began to move his entire body through the portal, he felt the same tickling sensation he received when he passed through the Emancipation Grill.

Before he knew it, he was in a completely different area. He could see the orange portal from behind the glass. In a matter of no time at all, he'd reached the other side with ease. This was especially interesting for Alan; he now wanted to study the mechanics of how these things work, perhaps find a way to make one himself. Of course, he wasn't at Black Mesa, instead he was in a much different environment.

Wait a second; Aperture had a fully working quantum tunneling system? But how could they have developed one? How could they not have released it? How come nobody knows about it?

This was bad, REALLY bad. Not only had Aperture succeeded in producing a breakthrough technology, but they also acted as if it was completely normal! Back at Black Mesa, everybody was told Aperture was just a company that constantly released failed products, and weren't a competitive nuisance as long as they stayed below Black Mesa in terms of technology. But this, this was immensely surprising.

"Mr. Walker, I know you've never seen one firsthand, but could you at least act like you have? I'm sure you're familiar with how they work, after all, that's what all of our scientists in quantum studies have been working on recently. " Caroline said, snapping Alan back into reality.

Alan answered giving a thumbs up, and continued on his way. '_why do I have to look so stupid?_'

During the remainder of the test, Alan found himself pushing buttons in order to switch the portal destination. After the tedious trial and error, he finally reached the end of the course.

"Mr. Walker, I'm afraid we've run into a bit of a detour." Caroline announced once Alan had passed through the Emancipation Grill. "Instead of running through the mandato… suggested courses, we're instead shoving you straight into the Co-operative courses." She said as Alan joyfully skipped into a padded elevator.

The elevator lacked cheery music, much to Alan's disappointment. "Are we almost there?" He asked, speaking towards a screen with an Aperture logo. "Figures, they can't hear me. And even if they could, they'd be able to shove me in a room with a 50 foot drop and tell me to jump. I'd most likely have no say in… oh you've gotta be kidding me…" Alan found himself staring at the edge of a ledge peering over a decently sized chasm.

"Here's the last part of the individual test. We like to call it the non terminal non terminal velocity test." Caroline said as if Alan was about to go through a series of advanced hopscotch courses on her mark. "Your Aperture Science Long Fall Boots should keep you safe during your descent, just make sure you don't purposely try landing wrong."

'_So that's what the boots are fo- SHOULD keep me safe?_' Alan thought as he inspected just how vast a drop there was before him. '_Well I don't see any skeletons lying on the floor, so… I guess nobody's died here…_'

He was about to just jump for it, but a lurking thought crept from the back of his mind. Was there something he was supposed to know about using the boots? Would he be using them horribly wrong? Were they really size twelve and a half?

"Alright, no more thinking about it; I'm already getting sleepy." Alan's muscles tensed as he shifted back in preparation for the jump.

"UHAAAH! "

…

He felt all around for anything broken; bones, boots, brains… nothing… at least that's what it felt like. '_Hmm, I wonder what it feels like to have something broken. I've had stuff fractured before, but never broken… maybe the pain just needs to catch up to me or something…_'

Alan leaned down to get a better view of the boots. They obviously had some sort of incredible shock absorbing technology, because it made a forty foot drop seem like it was from four feet. Any boot that could do that was fine as long as it came in different colors. The smooth white feel to the entire facility was feeling a bit overdone at the moment.

"Excellent landing Mr. Walker. Now proceed to the CTI, your colleagues are waiting."

The door opened, revealing another elevator.

"Remember, I won't be able to communicate with you once you enter the CTI, proper protocol and all."

"Yeah whatever." Alan remarked as he stepped into the elevator. '_I wonder who they're going to put me with. Maybe they'll put me with an antelope herder… or a government conspiracy theorist…_'

After a good five seconds, the elevator came to a stop. On the opposite side, Alan could see another elevator parallel to his. Approaching it slowly, he decided to see who was inside. "Hello? Anyone in there?" He asked, reaching his hand to meet the soft surface of the folding doors.

The doors flew open, but instead of being greeted by a test subject, Alan was instead greeted by a load of air mixed in with an Aperture background. "I… guess not." Alan backed away from the empty elevator. "But… if you're not in there… where are you?" Alan searched the room for any sign of life. The room was practically featureless, save for the platform on the right side that rose up and down near the entrance to the upper floor. The second floor was hidden behind a dark wall, with the only entrance above the moving platform. The only other thing inside of the room was a small button standing up on a ledge over to the left.

"Anybody? Hello? Caroline, if you can hear me I think something went horribly wrong!" Alan's yells echoed through the wide chamber.

Hopefully Caroline would hear and clear up this whole debacle, but judging by her track record, she was more likely to enjoy his confusion and take copious notes.

Alan slumped down into a sitting position. '_Stupid Aperture. I wish I was back home, where nobody told you to jump from immense heights, press buttons, or walk through openings in space._' He thought as he lifted his head up to face the rising platform. '_And then they show me a book, a book! But it's not a normal book its an… Aperture book._'

Alan figured he should be moving on instead of waiting for somebody to tell him otherwise. He headed over towards the lift, folding his arms. '_I bet this is all some sort of Aperture test. I bet they've already developed a quantum tunnel printing machine, and soon, they'll be publishing comic books that include… no, that would be to expensive…_'

The lift soon reached the upper floor, showing Alan there was much more to the chamber than previously expected. He could hear a strange sound coming from the other side of the black wall. Alan sprinted towards the opening on the other side.

The sound slowly began to grow louder as Alan approached the gap in the wall. He rounded the corner, and his eyes caught something that made him stop in his tracks. In front of him was a cube dispenser hanging from the ceiling. The dispenser was suspended over an orange quantum portal lying on the floor. He looked over to the right, and there he saw a woman flying through the air at high speeds.

The woman seemed to have something lying in her hand, and by the looks of it, the device was shooting portals out in front of her. The woman landed on a ledge, and used the gadget to somehow pick a cube up without even touching it. She dropped the cube into an orange portal she just placed on the ground. The cube flew over towards the far end of the room, and luckily landed on a button surrounded by glass walls. "Finally!" She yelled once she saw the exit door open. "Now I can get out of this pla- She spotted Alan observing the scene at the edge of the room.

'_She sees me! Ahh! Panic!_' Alan stood completely still as the strange woman drew nearer. Now that she was closer, the first thing Alan noticed about her was that her dark, black hair shifted to a blue-like hue the moment she was in the proper lighting.

"Thanks for staying out of my way and doing absolutely nothing." The woman said in a smooth, flowing tone. "It's especially interesting when you try running through a co-operative course while going solo. I was wondering if you were ever going to arrive, that's why I decided to ditch the protocol and start without you; after all, it's not like they're watching." she said, pointing to a broken camera lying sideways on the floor. "Anymore."

"Wait… you went on without me?" Alan asked, wondering if his lengthy staring sessions at the quantum tunnels was the cause of him missing out on the first test. On the other hand, it _did_ cause him to miss out on the first test. "And what is the deal with the jumping test?"

"You have no idea how boring it is to wait for an elevator's doors to open. Eventually, I got tired, and used the emergency door control to get out." The woman started to grin as she examined Alan from head to toe. "Courses such as these tend to take a while even with two people, but I somehow managed to do it alone. If you were with me while I was going through the routine, then you'd probably send a stream of endless annoyances at me; however, you appear to be more of the quiet type, as well as an external employee, so I'll no longer have to worry about shutting you up anytime soon."

Alan was shocked. This woman had just told him why she didn't need him, and yet somehow still be able to make him sound as if he were important. He wasn't expecting the test subjects to be this commanding.

"So, are you going to move on to the next course? Or are you just going to stand there like an idiot?" The woman asked, waving her hand out towards the open exit. "You do realize they're only putting us through two of the testing chambers; something about bonding…"

'_Only two tests? Thank goodness!_'

"Uhh that's great…" Alan froze mid-sentence. "I don't even know your name! By the way, I'm Alan Walker." he said, placing his hand on his chest. "Pleased to… meet you."

The woman stared blankly at Alan as if she had just been ordered to wash dirty dishes by hand. "Well Dr. Walker, you may call me by the same name your peers insist on, or you could call me by my real name. If you prefer the first, my name is seven eight three two five, but if you prefer the latter, you may call me Slaney. My last name isn't important." She said in a tone that suggested she was holding her tongue from implying anything that didn't need to be mentioned. She knew who Alan was, she'd probably been informed beforehand. She'd also called him Dr, something that needed to be remedied. "Let's… just move on." She lifted the strange portal creating device up onto her shoulder.

Alan watched as she walked off towards the emancipation grill with the black and white colored device still in hand. He followed her footsteps through the blue field and into each of an area with two different elevators. "Do you think I can get one of those?" he asked in the same way a little kid begs for an ice cream cone to his parents.

Slaney stopped, and slowly examined the portal gun. "I guess… this is the only one I was able to find though. If we do find one, just remember to ignore the warnings," she said as she pointed the gun towards Alan's face. "They tell you not to point the operational end of the device at anyone. But that's just a load of BS. I've been doing it ever since I first touched one, and my eyes are fine." She said, heading over towards one of the parallel elevators. "Just don't submerge it in liquid, that's a valid warning…"

Alan moved over towards his own personal elevator. If they tried, they could both squeeze into the same one, but of course that would be foolish since they both had their own to stand in.

"So what do I do when I get one?" Alan asked before the doors managed to close on him.

"It's made by Aperture Science; you should know how it operates." Slaney said, just as the elevators began to move.

~X~X~X~X~X~

Author's notes: **Was that boring enough for you? Well good! You guys deserve such a crappy chapter.**

**Naa, I just wanted to introduce one of the characters and set the correct pacing for the story. So I hope it wasn't that disappointing for you guizez. Anyways, I know this chapter had little to do with the last one, but Who cares. Really, the guy over there named Who really does care. **

**I still have a box of cookies… and they're getting pretty stale… **


	4. The Madness Ensues!

Author's notes:** Well, might as well continue with the madness. You all have room temperature I.Q.s anyways, so you most likely won't catch on to my horrible writing. Other than that, have fun when you read the chapter I guess… nothing really special to say.**

~X~X~X~X~X~

Cave scanned through the company's record sheets once more. He was more focused on observing the recent decline of science Aperture was producing. He then switched his focus from the newer, cleaner reports to the older, typewritten statistics. He viewed the paper's steady progression from a proud company to mainstream science's favorite scapegoat for ridicule.

The weakened CEO coughed into his hands as he saw the door to his office open. There he saw the woman he'd met so many years ago; the one that saved him from a life of meager shower curtain designing. Caroline walked softly towards the debilitated man, and spoke with an equally flowing tone.

"Yes Mr. Johnson?"

Cave smiled, despite the frequent pain that arrived at each cough. His chest was now filled with a sweeping irritation that drove him crazy. He'd usually get these fluctuations every once in a while, but now it was different. This time the pills did hardly anything; they didn't relieve the pain, nor did they shorten its length by any measures.

"Caroline, I called you up here because… *cough* because I think we need to talk." He said, stuttering on the occasional loose syllable. "I'm… afraid we're going to need to begin the project as soon as possible."

"But sir…" Caroline paused with a slight wisp of uncertainty. "The subjects just met each other, and you're already proposing we send them in?" Caroline shook her head as she placed the clipboard in her right hand onto the desk where Cave was sitting.

"Relax Caroline… *cough* as long as they haven't tried attacking Dr. Walker yet, *cough* I'm sure they don't require any further testing. Besides *cough* those tests weren't designed to be difficult anyways; those were just *cough* 'sample' tests, they seem to be ready for the… the…" he halted his broken speech for a second, as he gazed towards Caroline's calm brown eyes. "the real one."

A confused look found its way across Caroline's face. "And where are you getting?" she asked, unsure what Mr. Johnson was implying.

"Caroline…" he spoke now with a much more reserved and serious voice. "To *cough* put it bluntly… I'm dying." Caroline nearly gasped when she heard Cave finish.

"No… don't say that…" The worried woman laid her hand on Cave's shoulder. "We'll… find a way. Our scientists are working on it now. You don't have to be so…"

"Caroline…" Cave interrupted Caroline's vocal routine. Every time he told her his health was declining she'd try desperately to find some way to comfort him. "We need to be serious. I… *cough* don't know how much longer I'll be alive… and…" his eyes were suddenly drawn to the portrait of him sitting proudly on a chair in front of his lovely assistant. "This… project, this book…. May very well be the greatest advancement in science ever achieved by Aperture. With this, who knows what *cough* we could accomplish? This could bring us out of the pits of despair, rip us out of the marshes of progression, it could…" he froze as he realized another important fact that recently eluded him. "Help us gain an edge on Black Mesa."

The two shared a smile after the uttering of Aperture's greatest rival. "And you… believe Mr. Walker is fully capable with the mission?" Caroline asked, placing her hand on the back of head as she softly stroked her hair with her fingers.

"Of course Caroline, I'd trust him with *cough* loads of this company's property." Cave answered, stuffing the remaining reports away within his desk. "Speaking of such, how'd he *cough* do with the test subjects?" his eyes were glittering with a veracious curiosity, his movement got more restricted, all he was focused on now was the task at hand.

Caroline whipped out her clipboard. "Right, well I managed to take copious notes at the solo part of the test. Overall, he scratched his head once, shrugged twice, and stared blankly with his mouth open for a total of 22 seconds." Cave nodded as Caroline read her notes aloud. "His speed was nothing out of the ordinary, his company trust is in tip top shape, and his fitness level is absolutely solid. But there was one little problem with further observation." She continued, drawing Cave's undivided attention to her future words.

"And what would *cough* that be?"

"Well…" Caroline gazed around the room as if she were unsure how Cave would react. "You see, once he reached the CTI, a strange thing happened. Somehow the cameras in that area weren't operational, its as if…" Caroline was interrupted by a steady laughter emitting from Cave's newfound expression.

"You don't need to worry." Cave said in a surprisingly cheery tone. "I specifically chose her because of the… unique qualities she carries; and because she works well with another subject I chose." Cave talked exactly like he did 20 years ago. He didn't take any short pauses in order to cough, and the rush he received when thinking deeper into the mission fueled his tolerance to keep going. "Mr. Walker's records look extensively well kept. It's as if someone made it up in order to look good!" he exclaimed, shocking Caroline with his excited uproar.

"Yes! That's the spirit Mr. Johnson!"

"They can do this… they can make it through the…" Cave froze, struggling to withhold something even though the two were speaking in private. "The greatest test ever known." The room fell silent once Cave finished. His hands were laid out from side to side, and his face grew pale green as he fell back into the sickened state. This time he couldn't hold it back. The coughs came with an intense convulsion, pumping through his chest with utmost force. He coughed and sputtered so much he almost fell out of his chair; and without warning he began to feel the periodical pain that gripped him every few days or so.

"Mr. Johnson!" Caroline ran over to the stumbling man. She laid her hands on his side as she helped pick him back up. He was now breathing heavily, much more than before. The panic ended just as fast it began; Cave was sitting back in his seat and Caroline was standing idly before him. They both knew why it came. Cave was just postponing the pain until he let it out through one strong burst of activity. His continuous talking coupled with the complete disregard for his pain echoed through his body, causing the intense feeling to erupt at the worst possible moment.

Luckily, Caroline was there to make sure he was alright, and that was enough.

"Caroline…" Cave was still breathing heavily, but the bad part was now gone. "Can you *cough* hand me my pain pills?" He laid his hand out towards the general direction, guiding Caroline's hands towards the uniform white box. He opened the box and took out a couple rounded capsules. "Go down and… make sure the test subjects *cough**cough* are… ready for the mission." He gripped his head with one hand and used the other to pop another pill into his waiting mouth. "They leave in ten hours…"

"Yes Mr. Johnson." Caroline nodded dutifully as Cave dismissed her. She left the warm, comforting office, and entered the sterile blandness of the white concrete expanse before her.

Cave sighed as he took in the situation. He was going to let the test subjects get a quick rest before he sent them off into the unknown. He planned for them to be briefed personally through him, but his impaired speech would surely make it more difficult than planned.

He glanced over at the message recorder that was sitting at the edge of the table, covered in dust. He pulled it closer to him and turned the power on. Instead of the commonplace red dot, there was a blinking crimson Aperture logo positioned over the white "record". He pressed the button down, until the secondary light flashed on, showing that it was in the middle of capturing the local sound waves. Cave leaned back and spoke into the machine.

"Over the forty –plus years at Aperture Science, I've come to *cough* realize one thing. Aperture hasn't produced anything that's significantly changed the world; it has offered practically nothing of conventional value to the world we live in. But now, *cough* as I sit here in my office, death will most certainly… arrive soon. I don't have any *cough* idea how soon but *cough* all I know is that when I'm gone, there needs to be a significant impact that I leave on the world. Now many of you *cough* don't fully understand where I'm going, so let me *cough* elaborate." Cave leaned closer to the machine.

"About a week ago, one of our scientists noticed something strange coming from a quiet area inside the facility grounds. It was especially significant because of its electromagnetic readings and *cough* strange pulses. Upon further investigation, we discovered it was but a simple *cough* book, in which we later found a dimensional rift held within the first few pages. There's so much *cough* more I'd *cough* like to tell you, but I'm afraid if something like this get's into the wrong hands, the effects could be disastrous." Cave fell into another string of intense coughs, but he didn't want to stop now and ruin the recording, so he kept going.

" Tomorrow at approximately ten-hundred hours, Aperture will be sending five able bodies through the strange rift; one of them being a scientist deeply involved with its discovery, and another one being a capable scientist from our Ohio offices that works extensively in the field of quantum studies."

"The future of Aperture will hopefully be one filled with advances in science; unlimited technological breakthroughs that help us knock the hell out of our competitors. If we're able to contain and possibly reproduce such fields, it'll help us soar past Black Mesa, and we'll be the greatest science company the world has ever seen. Alas, if I do not live to see any successful advancement… Caroline will be in command of the project until… until the GLOS* project is finally activated, then she can…" a tear slid down the side of Cave's aged face. "Live in peace." Cave grew silent as he stared at the blinking red light. "Since there's a large possibility this is my last message, I want to make sure you all understand this. If anything happens to me before we're able to reproduce a safe, fully functional, quantum field. Caroline will work alongside the likes of Mr. Walker in developing such a system." Cave moved his hand back towards the electronic recording device.

"But until then… this is Cave Johnson, signing off."

~X~X~X~X~X~

Caroline returned to the hallway elevator. Now she had to round up the test subjects and brief them on the mission. She figured they should be done by now, at least for the most part. Her communication radio sprung to life as she heard the familiar voice of one of the test chamber monitors.

"Excuse me, Miss Caroline?"

"Yes, is there something I should know about the test subjects?" She asked with an almost critical sounding voice.

"Well… yes, I… don't know how to present it to you."

"Why not?" Caroline asked, growing more worried from a lingering thought in the back of her mind.

"Its… never happened before, there's no code for the situation except… except…"

"What? What is it?"

"We've got a 451…"

"What the… how? They've escaped? Where are they? Did you shut down the elevators?"

"Uh… yes ma'am, its just that the cameras are broken, and the doors not closing properly. Its most likely some sort of malfunction, but… from the looks of it, the subjects left because of a door-button co-operation failure."

Caroline's felt a cold scratch inside her chest as she finally realized what was going on. The "rebel" had managed to find her way out of the test chamber, possibly with Mr. Walker. "Meet me outside the external entrance at once." She said.

"Uh… copy that, I'll be waiting… over."

"This is bad… bad bad bad bad." Caroline pressed the elevator buttons in frustration; anything to make it move faster. "Nothing's working… nothing's working!" She gripped her hands tight as she was forced to wait for the slow moving elevator to reach the CTI. The glass doors swung open as Caroline started to make her way towards the external exit. She'd never before experienced a 451 firsthand, and she obviously never wanted to. "Ok, let's see… 56E, or is it 56K? No… E would have to be on another floor and… K is… wouldn't that be G?" Caroline ran the testing chambers back through her mind. One wrong turn and she could jeopardize the entire mission's integrity.

She quickly rounded the corner, and the external exit was now in sight. "Hurry up!" A man with a blue jacket and a bunch of card keys motioned for Caroline to move faster. The man inserted one of the red key cards into a slot on the side of the door. He waited until Caroline was in spitting distance, then stepped inside.

Outside the chamber, it looked much different than it did inside; the black steel beams, the soft blue lights, and the padded yellow walls made it look like it needed serious renovation. "Over here." The man walked over to a hidden entrance within the test chamber's wall. Sliding in another one of his key cards, he opened the door that led into the fully white room.

Inside, the entire chamber was empty except for a few buttons and vital testing equipment. All the buttons we're surprisingly cube less, yet the door looked halfway open. The door was pried open due to a companion cube blocking it from fully closing. "Get that door open!" Caroline ordered. She usually wasn't this demanding, but if the subjects left the chamber without them knowing where they were, Caroline could be in big trouble. "Hurry please." She watched as the worker removed a panel next to the door. He messed around with a couple of wires, and before long, the door was all the way open.

Caroline pushed the companion cube aside as she ran towards the area with dual elevators. Both of them were sitting a few feet off the ground, as they'd been shut down the moment they started moving. "Alright… now… get these open!" Caroline pointed towards the elevators. She had to make sure they were full, or else she'd have a lot of paperwork to fill out.

"Fine fine…" The Aperture employee slowly made his way to the elevators. Not sharing the same amount of fear as Caroline, he scanned through the access cards until he came up with the correct one. "Stand back." He slid the card through a small opening hidden from plain sight. A green light flashed on as the elevator rebooted. "The door should open soon." The man said, heading over to the opposite elevator.

Caroline eagerly awaited as the doors opened at an unnaturally slow speed. This worried her for a few seconds until she was struck with an immediate sense of relief as she caught sight of Alan lying down against the back of the padded lift. 

"WELL ITS ABOUT DAMN TIME! WHAT WERE YOU WAITING FOR? I'M TIRED!" Alan threw his hands out and complained. "Please don't tell me I'm staying awake for much longer." He said, gripping his head. He hadn't even slept since he returned home from Black Mesa last night. He wouldn't haven expected such a turn of events to arise when he got up that morning.

"I'm so sorry Mr. Walker we…" Caroline turned around to see the other elevator being turned on. "we ran into a little problem with the system configuration. The real problem was since the cube kept the door open, you somehow left without the test being 'finished', causing the system to go haywire."

'_That would never happen at Black Mesa!_'

"Oh, I see." Alan lied; in truth he had absolutely no idea why it would go crazy like that just because the door wouldn't close. But, since Slaney insisted on finding creative ways to get rid of the cameras, they'd certainly take unfamiliar testing anomalies to the extreme.

"Miss Caroline."

Caroline ran towards the other elevator. In a few seconds, the door would open, and the subjects would be under their control once more. She put her hands together as she waited for the door to open; and once it did, the two flaps flew apart dramatically, revealing two test subjects standing with their arms folded.

"Thirty minutes." A man with a large build stood next to Slaney. He spoke in a deep voice as he glared at Caroline and then over at Alan, who was still waiting as if he'd been sent to timeout.

"Eh… twenty-five." Slaney commented, leaning her head over to the side.

"Oh dear, you three seemed to…" Caroline looked back at the half opened door. "Manage on your own. How were you able to get the cube in the middle of the door?" she asked, watching both of the subjects smile deviously.

Slaney pointed at the exceptionally large subject. "Big guy." She then proceeded to hi-five the subject, as if saying 'yeah, we're awesome, what are you going to do about it?'

"Oh my… I'm so sorry for the delay." Caroline said, moving towards the center of the two elevators. "If it makes you feel any better, you'll be awarded with cupcakes to have during your brief-

As Caroline exchanged periodic glances at the opposite elevators, she was surprised to find Slaney's to be completely empty. She was able to catch sight of a silhouette scurrying off into the distance.

"Don't worry." The Aperture worker said, folding his arms. Without a pass, they can't go anywhere except for the briefing room, which at the moment, is most likely their destination.

Caroline quickly turned her head around to see Alan stepping off the elevator. "Test subjects love cake."

"Do you have carrot cupcakes?"

"Certainly."

"Let's go…"

~X~X~X~X~X~

"Alright everyone, class is in session!" Caroline stood in the desk dwelling subjects and scientists. Alan was sitting in the middle of the row, with Slaney over to his right, and Dr. Vernon over to the left. The big guy which he knew as Kent was positioned over to the right of Slaney, and to the left of Vernon was the eccentric girl that was asleep back at the limo.

"And today's subject is…" Caroline reached her hand up near the wall, and pulled down a large projector screen. "Inter-dimensional travel." A large figure you'd see on a polygraph found its way onto the screen. "These readings are taken directly from inside the book. As you can see, when we point a superconductor at it full blast, it emits an electromagnetic hyper wave that condenses ultra-waves through the form of, in this case life. Any electro-magnetic being such as humans should be able to pass through with ease, providing the superconductor has just done its work." She showed a bunch of different slides demonstrating the quantum figures coming from a central field. "Any questions?"

Slaney raised her hand.

"No seven eight three two five, we cannot just tie a rope onto you and send you in.** Think of it as more of a teleportation device than a quantum tunnel system."

Her hand went back down.

"Now then, let me go further into the details by saying this." Caroline proceeded to the next slide; this one had an Aperture logo on it. "Your mission is one nobody's ever taken before. Aperture Science is on what some may call a breakthrough if you will. This book is perhaps the most important scientific project Aperture's ever discovered. With the book, questions about the universe may be answered, philosophical discussions will be sparked, and most importantly… well let's just say that Black Mesa will have to lay off some employees in the future." Dr. Vernon gave an approving smile.

"Your mission is this: Once you enter the dimension, you will contact Aperture through the high frequency communication terminal we're sending with you. Other than that, we'll be giving you an emer- unfavorable condition escape terminal, something that should only be used if you're absolutely sure there's nothing of interest. Dr. Vernon has already been briefed on his objectives, and Mr. Walker will be properly informed of his tomorrow morning." The 'class' was starting to lose interest as if they were being taught at a local high school.

"For the rest of you, your missions are to establish yourselves onto the world, and explore it to see what may be hidden there. Your main job is to find an exit point once you've arrived. If there's a way to get there, there's certainly a way to leave there. Your other duties are to make sure the dimension doesn't pose any serious threat to this one; remember, dimensional security is highly important. And lastly, one of your duties is to find any sign that people have previously explored such a place. We don't know exactly where this book came from, and we might not want to meet its creators face to face. That's why you're objective is to meet them face to face. Any questions?" 

Alan raised his hand up high. "Yes, are you sure we'll survive the transition, let alone be able to survive on such a world?"

Caroline smiled and nodded confidently. "We've scanned the environment thoroughly; it's vastly similar to something you'd find on earth. Worst case scenario, you might get a little light headed over the slightly heightened air pressure, but other than that, its perfectly safe!"

The strange woman that had been sleeping on the limo ride raised her hand as well. "Will our clothes teleport with us?"

"There's a 14% chance your clothes will not follow you. If such an event occurs, the person behind you will gladly try bringing it for you."

The woman cringed as she retreated back into her chair.

"Alright, that ends it for tonight's session. I hope you all study for the test next morning, you'll be prompted to write a full essay detailing the books magnetic qualities." Alan recalled memories of having to write those dreadful English papers back in high school. "No I'm just kidding. Before you enter, you'll each get a personal refresher from Mr. Johnson himself!"

"Yay!" Everyone cheered.

"Now, who wants to go to bed?"

"YES!"

"Your relaxation chambers are on the left."

"YAY!" Everone said. Kent and Slaney ran towards the door as Alan went over towards the strange woman in order to greet her.

The woman looked relieved that she didn't have write an essay. She just got up from her desk and was about to exit the room before Alan stopped her. "Uh excuse me." Alan said, scratching the back of his head. "I don't believe we've been able to properly introduce ourselves. I'm Mr. Walker, and you are?"

The reddish-brown haired woman smiled nervously back at Alan. "Roni… Just call me Roni." She said, watching Kent and Slaney retreat to their nighttime dwellings behind the glass panels. "I can't wait to… work with you." She said, as if she was trying to speak just for the sake of getting it over with.

"Yeah I… guess it will be."

"Yeah." The woman walked off without Alan being able to say anything more.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow." He watched as Roni trudged off towards an empty relaxation chamber, and closed the door behind her.

'_NOOOO! EPIC FAILURE TO THE THIRD POWER!_'

"Mr. Walker." Dr. Vernon broke off from his conversation with Caroline in order to speak to the fellow scientist. "Whatever happens tomorrow… I'd… just like you to know its all in the name of science." He said, waving Alan off. "If we don't make it, remember we'll still be pushing science onto a newfound level."

"Yeah well you too… I mean… for science." Alan said as both he and Vernon nodded to each other. They both occupied the last of the relaxation chambers, for now was the last comforting rest they'd receive for a very long time.

~X~X~X~X~X~

Author's notes: **Next chaptaz when they… oh I'm sure you understand what's going on. Anyways, NO this isn't a Half-Life crossover, there may be a few elements here and there BUT THAT'S BECAUSE THEY'RE IN THE SAME WORLD. So have fun and drink three glasses of milk a day. Also don't let the munchkin tribes steal the sacred artifact from you again, they hate it when you don't give them a challenge.**

*-Genetic Life Operating System

**-That one was for you Zero


	5. Stepping Through

Author's note: **DING DING DING DING! WE HAVE A WINNER! Congrats to… Tow… whoever you are… have you favorited the story and told everyone you know about it yet? Oh I guess you have… anywayz, here's your batch of free cookies! Be careful, they're pretty stale… and rock hard… So… hooray! Ok, so after I post the next chapter, I'll officially change it to a crossover, but until then, enjoy! **

~X~X~X~X~X~

*DRRRRGGGHHH*

"_Good morning _[DR. WALKER]_, welcome back to your consciously controlled mind! _ _The Enrichment Center would like to properly inform you of your future endeavors, and that's why we're going out of our way to make sure you're as comfortable as possible!" _

Alan flew out of the soft, fluffy bed. It was so comfortable, his body had practically molded into it overnight. "AH! Wah wuzzat?" His eyes swung over to the side of the bed where a red digital clock read 7:45. "God, that was the worst alarm I've ever-

"_For your pleasure, we've provided a complimentary breakfast; packed full with the many different nutrients you'll need to do science."_

"Whatever…" Alan got up from the lovely bed and began stretching. He walked towards a small table positioned a few feet in front of the bed. He slid his hands down his face and rubbed his eyes. "That was a surprisingly comfortable sleep considering-

*DRRRRGGGHHH*

A small square hole opened up in the wall; A few silver packages and files were kept inside the hotel-like room's enclosure. Alan reached in and took the first thing his hands touched.

"Aperture Science fiber infused solid oatmeal nut rectangular feeding device..." Alan read aloud the label of the small gray polypropylene wrapped bar. "yum…"

He looked back into the small opening. There was another strange packet sitting inside. "Instant coffee? Yuck!"

"_Remember to _[REVIEW COLLEAGE'S INFORMATION] _before you venture out into the Enrichment Center!_"

*DRRRRGGGHHH*

"Finally, that's the last of that weird robotic voice." Alan rolled his eyes, but stopped them once they returned back to the wall's opening. "Uhh… I guess I better see who it is I'm dealing with."

He sat down on the plastic chair in front of the table. The relaxation chamber wasn't half bad. It reminded Alan of a hotel room, and not the ones that have those blinds that never seem to close all the way. The chamber did an excellent job of presenting a comforting environment; a few plants and paintings gave the room some real sense of life. Of course it wasn't that large, but Alan didn't mind. It actually felt like he was back in his college days. Living in a small space, waking up to do science, it was all a refreshing memory in his mind.

He took one of the reports out and laid it on the table, next to the gray breakfast bar. "Do I really?" Alan picked the bar up to the point where it was at eye level. Would he really go so far as to eat Aperture Science food? Well of course he gobbled up that cupcake pretty quickly, but that was a different story.

Alan felt his stomach growl. "Fine." He reluctantly opened the gray wrapping, and took the very unappetizing contents out.

"At least I'm alone, I could be sitting with that Vernon gu- "

The chamber's door flew open. "WAKE UP! It's time for science!"

Alan sat still in his chair, not making a move. "Good morning Dr." he said in a monotone voice.

"Oh, I can already tell its going to be an eventful day!" Vernon ran over to the table where Alan was sitting, and without asking, he took a seat of his own. "Two scientists, observing the unknown. With of course, the help of a few subjects. You must be so excited Mr. Walker!"

"Oh yeah, I'm… excited." Alan tried to withhold the evident fear inside of him. Try as he might, he couldn't wrestle out the lingering thought that he was somehow going to die today. He didn't know how, but he figured maybe only a portion of his body would successfully transfer through, not counting what he may face after that would be over with.

"Well you don't look excited. Here, maybe an Aperture Science coffee roast will perk you up, eh? It seems you've already gone to work on that oatmeal bar, a fine nutritional supplement if I do say so myself." Dr. Vernon took out a water bottle, and began mixing it with the coffee packet in way's Alan could barely understand. It had something to do with electrically charging it, but that was all he could see.

"This bar…" Alan said, taking another hunger driven bite. "It's as if you wet down some instant oatmeal, packed it all tightly, made it stick together through some strange substance, and then dehydrated it into one solid chunk."

"Why yes!" Dr. Vernon's face grew surprised. "That's exactly how we do it."

"Figures…" Alan remarked, returning his attention back to the subject's reports. "So what do you say we go over their personality reports?"

Dr. Vernon waved his hand beside his head. "Fine by me," he said, placing the 'coffee bottle' on the table and taking out an oatmeal bar of his own. "After all, it is one of our reserved duties to know our subjects."

"Right…" Alan picked up the first paper of the thin pile. "Let's begin with… Kent Ross. What do you think of him?"

"Strong, quiet, intelligent, and above all, calm in most situations. Trusting, dependant, follows orders pretty well. I had the liberty of observing him alongside Mr. Johnson when he was picking people to go through the book. He was the first of them to be selected."

"I see he has good records, is there anything I should worry about with him?" Alan asked, his eyes fixated on the subject's personal information.

"No, I think he'll get along, as long as he knows who's in charge." Vernon answered with an untraceable smile. "He tends to follow that uh…"

"Slaney?"

"Ah yes… her." Dr. Vernon's face grew much more reserved at Alan mentioning her name. "She… was specifically chosen by Mr. Johnson because she's… nearly impossible to contain. Every time she's in a chamber she… oh you know already Mr. Walker, you've seen her effects firsthand. She's… the one who knows how to get out of every situation; her escape abilities are top-notch, something Mr. Johnson was very pleased to see."

Alan went over Slaney's subject information; chocolate cake, no idea of Black Mesa, and an especially embarrassing last name. Alan struggled to contain his laughter once he read the strange surname.

"And that brings us to our final subject." Alan lifted Slaney's paper and placed it back into the hole in the wall. "Roni Ferguson."

Dr. Vernon was somehow taken aback by this one. "Oh… her." He said with a now confused look on his face. "I don't really have an opinion of her. She tends to get nervous in certain situations, which is why we needed someone to balance in out a little. She's very competent, but not confidant." He said, laying his hand out towards Alan.

Alan nodded as he placed the final paper back in the nearby storage compartment. "I see, well we… better be getting to the chamber as soon as possible! We don't want to keep them waiting." He got up from his chair just as he took the last bite of the Aperture bar.

"Right Mr. Walker, your clothes are in the closet over there." Vernon pointed to a couple of wooden doors standing next to the bed. "Just leave your other clothes in the closet, it really doesn't matter." He said, giving a thumbs up as he continued on towards the exit. "Oh, and uh… you really don't want any of this coffee?" he asked, holding up the former water bottle.

"No thanks."

"Shame, you're really missing out."

"Forget the coffee, Dr. Vernon just tell me where it is I'll be headed off to once I leave."

"Down the hallway to your right." Vernon answered, signaling the directions with his hands. "Just keep going until you see a couple employees waiting for you, they'll gladly guide you in." Dr. Vernon nodded back at Alan as he turned around and kept walking.

Alan heard the door close, meaning the Aperture scientist had officially left. "This is the last time I'm wearing Aperture pajamas." He said, noting the logo riddled clothing.

He approached the neatly designed closet and opened it up. "We'll, I guess I'll be wearing an Aperture t-shirt today!"

~X~X~X~X~X~

"Communications terminal, check. Supplies, check. Superconductor, check. Mr. Walker…" Caroline looked all around the crowded room for any sign of Alan. "Oh dear, I've seemed to have misplaced him."

Caroline saw Dr. Vernon entering the room through the thick steel door. He was the one who last saw Alan, so maybe he knew where he was. "Dr, Dr. Vernon!" She called across the room.

"Yes Ms. Caroline?"

"Mr. Walker, do you know where he is?"

Dr. Vernon grabbed his chin. "I believe he's still in his room, getting ready."

"Well tell him he needs to hurry, tell him science can't wait for us!"

Dr. Vernon looked back at the thick steel door. It obviously was meant to keep things both out, and in. Perhaps Alan lost his way amidst the many passageways. "I'm sure he'll be here soon. And besides, it's not like we're on a deadline here." He answered, shrugging at Caroline.

"Oh I'm sure he's going to come running to meet us." Caroline said, holding the clipboard in her hand tightly against her body.

"I'm running to meet you!" Alan's voice echoed through the outside hallway, even though the steel door was nearly all the way closed, both Caroline and Vernon could hear him racing towards the room. "I'm running… to… do…" He threw himself into the room, looking around in all directions for any familiar face. "Science…"

Caroline nodded at Vernon following a short pause.

"Wait, why are you two smiling? What's going on?" 

"Follow me Mr. Walker, we've got one more crucial piece of equipment to show you." Caroline walked up the metal door that led to the observation room. She opened it and waited for Alan to step inside.

The actual room was something you'd never fully comprehend from the outside. There were monitors and screens all around the front of the chamber's massive glass window. Control panels, switches, and countless mechanized devices looked as if they required trained PhD's just to turn them on. The room appeared to have more than one entrance however, as the opposite end had another door waiting to be opened.

Caroline brightened up the room as she walked past. The employees seemed to get a deep sense of relief once they knew her presence was near. Caroline smiled back at them as they went back to work.

"The lab boys are so sweet, aren't they?" Caroline asked as she stopped at the door.

Alan didn't reply vocally, but instead gave Caroline an effort-deprived nod.

Caroline pushed the mysterious door open. Inside was a small room with backpacks lining the wall and test subjects waiting eagerly in their plastic chairs.

"Finally." They all said in unison.

"Now that Mr. Walker's here," Caroline said, walking over to a table at the far edge of the room. "We can finally begin the mission." She picked up a 2x1 foot black box sitting nearby, and placed it on the table. "But first, you're going to meet the final addition to your team."

Caroline lifted the flap on the top of the box. She slipped out what appeared to be a smooth black terminal with many different buttons and knobs on it. She then set it on the table, and powered it up.

"This is Aperture Science Model KTUFSO-334184. It is fitted with the most advanced optical sensor ever created. It's also equipped with a state of art Puzzle Advising Notary Information Conduit, to help you get out of those tough situations. It's all state of the art technology, but you would expect that from Aperture Science, wouldn't you?" she asked with a bright smile.

"Woo-hoo," Slaney said blandly.

"Oh, yes, it is exciting, isn't it? Not only is it able to scan environments with speed and precision, but it's also able to understand situational procedures, and it is even fitted with communication recognition capabilities! It will be able to monitor everything you say and do!"

Slaney and Kent exchanged grimaces.

Roni shuddered.

"And that's why I prefer to call him Seymour!" Caroline announced. "Get it? Because he'll 'See more' of you than you want him to!"

Just as Caroline finished, Dr. Vernon strolled into the room. "Ha, ha, ha!" he said more than laughed. Each of his exclamations was singularly punctuated, as if a statement in and of itself, and resonated through the small waiting room. "You're so good at naming thing, Caroline!"

"Thank you, Dr. Vernon! If you'd like, I could give you a sweet little nickname! How about…"

"Ah, no, no, that will not be necessary! I'd hate to see you waste your talents on something other than science!"

"How thoughtful of you!"

The model Caroline had named Seymour whirred, and emitted the words: "Compliment invalid."

"Ooh, my baby's awake!" Caroline announced, rubbing her hands together. "Say hi to Seymour!"

"Hi, Seymour," droned Roni, Slaney and Kent.

Alan was too dumbfounded to speak.

"Greeting processed," Seymour said. "Enthusiasm levels: undetectable."

Caroline frowned for a nigh-imperceptible moment before her wide grin shone again. "Oh, I think it's time you got acquainted with your field equipment!"

"Does she mean an _actual_ field?" Slaney whispered.

Kent shrugged.

"I hope it's got daisies in it… and ponies! I'd love to see a ponies!" In her excitement, Slaney forgot to keep the volume down; consequently activating Seymour's detection system.

"Ponies, and other equine creatures, are not permitted within the facility. Please call an Aperture Science Service Representative, who will bring you a picture of a…" searching its databanks took a few moments before it spat out: "pony" and paused again before finishing with: "for compensation."

Slaney stuck her tongue out at Seymour.

"Oh, my, he is working rather hard for his first trial run," said Caroline, hurriedly switching Seymour off. "If I may direct your attention away from him and towards your other new friends now…" She extended her hand toward the standard-issue backpacks lining the wall. "You will each receive one of these for the field mission," she said. "They are equipped with an Aperture Science water desalinizer-"

"She's talking about salt, right?" Slaney whispered to Kent, who nodded solemnly.

"A week's worth of food, Aperture Science high-density ultra batteries, walkie-talkies to share amongst yourselves, and an assortment of other Aperture Science equipment. Subject Kent will have Seymour attached to his backpack, and he'll carry him around everywhere you go."

"Caroline!" Cave Johnson's voice buzzed over the intercom. "I want those test subjects in here while I've still got a pulse!"

Every head in the room turned t the door the intercom perched above.

"Oh, Mr. Johnson!" Caroline giggled. "Right away!"

Mechanically, the test subjects got to their feet, picked up their backpacks, and followed Caroline to the door.

"Wait, wait!" Alan called, "this is too fast!"

"Mr. Johnson wants us now," Caroline said, smiling brightly and tapping her fingers on her clipboard.

"Point taken," said Alan, following the single-file procession down the hall.

Vernon crept up behind Alan and whispered: "It's almost time! Just a little more briefing!"

Alan did not have to turn to see the twelve-year-old tension in Dr. Vernon's entire body, as if he were waiting to ride a shiny new bicycle.

The subjects left the observation room and poured out into the main atrium. In the center was Cave sitting on a wheelchair with his hands folded. It didn't take long for the subjects as well as Alan to circle him to see what he had to say.

Cave took a deep breath, and spoke in a deep voice. "Alright, let's begin."

The employees at their desks and sitting at their chairs didn't need to be near Mr. Johnson in order to understand him. Immediately, they all filed together and headed for the observation room like little ants retreating back to their nest.

The last of the employees left the room and closed the door behind him. Caroline presented Kent with Seymour, his very own mechanical burden.

"Now then, *cough**cough*" Cave said once the room was filled with the select few. "You three enter the chamber." He pointed at Slaney, Kent, and Roni. "And you two *cough* stay here…" he said, directing his words at the qualified scientists.

The subjects headed towards the door, and Caroline waved to them as the massive thick hunk of steel slowly opened. The exchanged their glances as they each stepped inside one after another.

"Remember," Caroline said, addressing her words to Kent. "When you successfully reach the other side, contact us via Seymour."

Kent nodded as they all turned around to see the door close. They soon came to the realization that it could possibly be their last vague sight of the outside world.

"Sealed." Caroline said, checking the door closely.

Cave turned back to Vernon and Alan. "Good," He said, picking up a briefcase with a centered Aperture logo lying on the side of his wheelchair. "Now we can *cough* discuss the full nature of your *cough* mission."

Alan looked at Vernon with an unsure face.

"Now I know you're *cough* 'objective' is to go over there and see what's *cough* on the other side. But that's not your only objective." He laid the briefcase out on his lap. He moved his fingers out towards the end of the briefcase, stopping them once they touched the clasps. "I know you're curious as to what *cough*I'm leading to, so I'll make it… *cough* simple.

Cave's fingers slowly pressed on the briefcase, opening it up so Alan could see what was inside. It almost pushed him back with surprise once he saw what was inside. Molded into the frame, standing side by side were two glock pistols and four clips of their respective ammunition.

"If you see anything there…" Cave leaned closer to the two. "Kill it."

A subtle yet strong sense of horror crept into Alan's mind. He was now being given the one thing that would evidently protect him against who knows what? Would a gun be enough to defend against what he was about to face?

"The communications uplink is successful! All signs show positive results!" A voice yelled over the loudspeaker.

This is it; time to go to the other side.

"Well, that's your cue." Cave said, handing the two scientists their weapons. Caroline gave the two holsters to place the gun in. "Dr. *cough* Vernon, if you will."

"Yes, Mr. Johnson." Dr. Vernon said as he headed over towards the large steel door. "I guess I'll see you on the other side Mr. Walker." He followed the same procedure recently conducted by the test subjects; before long, he reached the point of no return.

"Well Mr. Walker," Caroline said, handing her clipboard to Cave. "All we can say now is good luck."

"And good hunting…" Cave added. "And I mean that literally."

"Oh Mr. Johnson…"

"Transfer successful, Mr. Walker, you're next." The loudspeaker carried another command, and with a routine creaking of the steel door, Alan was invited to take the steps of the others.

"I guess we better be headed to the observation room?" Caroline asked, laying her hand out towards Cave. "Oh no wait, I don't think you'll be able to handle those steps."

"Don't worry Caroline." Cave said as he slowly but surely arose from the wheelchair. "I think I can make it."

Caroline looked back at Alan. "Well, go on!" She said, showing him the door. She proceeded to help Cave up the steps and into the observation room. Before he entered, Cave gave a thumbs up to Alan, who was practically shaking in his boots.

Alan turned around to face the dark, cold room. He walked inside and touched the steel door for the very last time. The hydraulics hissed as the automatic entryway began to shut behind him.

Now he was alone.

He felt his heart began to race, and his stomach began to feel nauseous, and it certainly didn't have anything to do with that oatmeal bar. It wasn't the feeling of confusion or even downright nervousness.

It was fear.

"Superconductor on, transfer rate set, frequency channel set. It's all you Mr. Walker."

Alan approached the solely lit book in the center of the room. How could something so simple hold so much mystery? That was a question of course that could only be answered in one way, and he was about to go through that way.

"All ready…"

Alan laid his hand on the hardcover book, taking one last glance at its rough design. He opened it to the first page, and there it was, ready for him. The mystery of what lied on the other side would soon be solved. Alan hesitated to lift his hand up, but eventually his willpower tapped into the massive reserve and caused him to lift it mere inches away from the page.

He practically pushed his hand forward, ready to feel a strong sense of pain once he touched the page. He closed his eyes, and let his hand move forward on its own, uncontrolled by the fear of the unknown.

Alan tightened his muscles up. Instantly felt every last inch of his body fade from the known universe.

~X~X~X~X~X~

"What? Where am I? What's going on?" Alan felt himself drifting off, to where and for what purpose was completely unknown. He felt himself floating through a space like field, his movement felt restricted yet he had full range of motion.

He now felt as if he were falling asleep, but it wasn't a deep sleep however, it felt like a shallow, half-conscious sleep. Confusion riddled his mind. Where was he? What was going on? He had practically no recollection of more recent events; the lingering question was how did he get here?

His eyes saw a strange sight approaching from a distance. The entire area fell silent, and became pitch black. All that was visible was a small pad of light with a man standing in it. The man was wearing a blue business suit, as well as a red tie. In his right hand, he held a briefcase with a Black Mesa logo on it. Was Alan dreaming of getting fired?

"I'm glad that you're… ready Dr. Walker. Time is… less of an issue right now, we happen to be free from it at the moment. But… there are more… Pressing matters to attend to. Such as the ones you're about to face. Don't worry, my employer's are… eager to see how you perform. Do understand that for them… time, is not that great of an issue. But for you… well… let's just say a more simplistic approach must be taken."

Alan tried to speak up. Maybe break the wall of confusion. But he felt himself unable to communicate; his abilities seemed to be fully hampered. All he could do was stay, and listen.

"My employers have realized that these matters don't come without risk however, which is why I'm ready to find other people for the job… if you're not up for it." The man instantly faded away into the darkness, but soon reappeared in front of an endless landscape of large brown mountains creeping out of an orange sea. "But I'm sure your abilities are… satisfactory. It may come as a surprise to, but I've been observing you for… quite a while. Just remember Dr. Walker that when the time comes… you'll know what to do."

The scenery faded, and now Alan found himself sitting above a continuous expanse of clouds. "But for now… time… is something that requires a little catching up…" The man smiled as he began to mold into the oncoming darkness.

Now it was completely dark, and completely silent. Alan felt himself floating through the strange space once more. "Good luck Dr. Walker…" Alan saw a strange glowing green ball of electricity flash in front of him. "You will need it…" The ball grew closer and closer until it was almost touching him.

*DSZCHZCH*

SUBJECT: WALKER

STATUS: AWAITING FURTHER OBSERVATION

TRANSITIONING

~X~X~X~X~X~


	6. Aperture Island?

Author's note:** WELL LOOK ATCHU! Deciding that reading a boring crossover Fanfic is more important than anything else. Seriously, don't you have anything more important to do with your time? I bet you've been staring into the computer screen for a long time, you know it's good to get outside once in a while and observe distant photonic particle reflections as they cascade through the highly concentrated rod arrangements in your eyes. What I mean is that it's best to just go outside and play, not only play for your own sake but for your neighbors as well. I bet you've been socially neglecting them, and your only escape is the internet, where you read the works of miserable writers such as me in order to boost your own confidence, creating a swindling network of constant in and out emotional constraints that cannot be suppressed by either party due to the incompetence of them both! **

**Naa, I'm sure you wouldn't do that. **

~X~X~X~X~X~

Alan felt his knees collide with a solid wooden dock. His hands soon attained balance by doing the same.

What just happened? Where was he?

He desperately looked around to try to find an answer. His eyes took some time to adjust to the strangely soft light, and his ears had an outwardly open popping sensation similar to when they have to adjust to a higher altitude.

He slumped onto the dock, not wanting to get up like a school kid dreading the quarterly math test.

Turning on his back to face the sky, he saw a few people-shaped silhouettes projected in front of the foggy backdrop above. One of them looked particularly familiar however, very similar to one of his fellow scientists at Black Mesa.

"Dr. Rosenberg? Is that you?"

Dr. Vernon shook his head.

"Do you think that part of his brain failed to teleport over here?" Slaney asked sarcastically.

Being the Aperture know-it-all he was, Dr. Vernon felt the need to correct Slaney. "Unlikely, the fluctuations would have dropped in frequency if a —oh, right, you were joking…"

Still dazed and confused, Alan slowly sat up and began to look around in all directions. Where was he? He remembered up and going to some science facility at night. Could it have been Black Mesa? No, that wouldn't explain him suddenly finding himself in the middle of a foresty island. It was as if Alan had his mind strategically wiped of very recent events, not to mention he was just waking up which hindered his memory even further.

"Mr. Walker…" Alan felt a hand help him up. He turned to see who it was. The silhouette softly transformed into a colored figure, and Alan began to regain his senses. "Welcome to the other side." It was Dr. Vernon, the one who was with Aperture Science.

Aperture Science!

That's right, he was at Aperture Science! That would explain everything except where he was.

He saw Kent return from the far side of the dock. In his hand, he held a large metal box which most likely contained some sort of communication equipment. Both Slaney and Roni were sitting quietly on top of a natural ledge, going over with each other on bits and pieces of machinery.

Now that Alan was fully aware, he was able to come to another realization. "Where the hell are we?" He asked, trying to comprehend his newfound position.

Dr. Vernon smiled as he too gazed towards the endless stretch of water over to their right. "We're far away from Aperture, in another dimension in fact. The fluctuation field is remarkably set to a concrete position which has yet to be grasped by even the most brilliant minds in Apertu-"

"No we're not." He said, looking about and coming to the obvious conclusion that they were still on Earth. "Seriously, where the hell did Aperture just send us?" 

Dr. Vernon backed away cautiously from Alan. "Mr. Walker, we've run numerous tests and analyses on the location, and I can say without a shadow of a doubt that we're not on any familiar terrestrial grounds."

Now with a horrified look on his face, Alan desperately raced towards Kent, who was still setting up Seymour's uplink. "No no no no…" He said, grabbing the man's shirt tight. "Please… please tell me this is a joke… please tell me we're somewhere in the middle of Lake Superior…"

Kent just shook his head. "I don't lie…"

Alan released his grip from Kent's shirt. "No no no no no no no…" He repeated frantically has he paced around the dock. "No no no…" He fell to his knees, raising his head so he could face the endless patch of fog surrounding the still waters. "No…" He kept peering out into the confined horizon. It was now hopeless. 

Or was it? Could he really be in another dimension as Vernon said? Could he really have achieved his career-long goal without him actually having to do any real scientific work himself?

No. He didn't believe it, At least not exactly. Perhaps Aperture was testing some kind of portal printing technology and they chose to use him. No, that wouldn't explain why they needed so many test subjects, including Dr. Vernon, someone whom actually has scientific value.

But Dr. Vernon was the head of the project; surely he'd know anything and everything about this mission. Alan felt a sense of impatience creep up into his very soul. Immediately, he sprang up to his feet and grabbed Dr. Vernon, pinning him to the wall.

"Tell me old man! Where the hell are we?" He yelled, drawing the attention of the nearby test subjects.

"I already told you! The book took us to another dimension! There's really no other way to explain it!" Dr. Vernon said.

"You're lying to me, and I know it! Tell me, are we still in Michigan? Huh?"

Roni dropped down from her position and raced over to Alan. "No more of this! We're accomplishing nothing by staying here and fighting!"

Alan loosened his grip on Dr. Vernon, but drew closer to him to make his words a little more personal. "If it turns out to be no way back…" He then made a signal which was so intense, it would pain me to actually type it out in description.

Slaney dropped down from the ledge, separating Dr. Vernon and Alan from their conflict. "You two are both being idiots. You couldn't have expected to come over to the other side and not face something like this. In fact, we're lucky that the ground isn't made of a viscous mass that sucks up everything that touches it!"

The two scientists backed off from each other. "She's right; we can't just arrive here and say that it's hopeless just because there's no inter-dimensional teleportation ready with flashing lights in sight." Alan said, walking over towards the center of the dock. "I say we develop a plan of action to take next."

"Good, I say we start by exploring the island." Dr. Vernon recommended.

"Hold on…" Kent said, fiddling with Seymour to the point where it looked like it was actually doing something. "It's almost ready…" He said, detaching the keyboard and placing it upon a structure on his back.

"What's almost ready?" Alan asked, shrugging as he watched Kent put away Seymour.

"What **is** ready…" Kent corrected.

Everyone's focus was immediately directed towards the area where they'd all arrived. A fuzzy sound came from a pixilated image which quickly formed into a perfectly solid companion cube.

Alan looked at the cube with confusion written across his face.

Nobody said a word, until Roni said: "Someone should carry it… I guess."

Everyone looked at Kent.

"No," Kent said simply, his firm tone contrasting with the neutral expression on his face.

Just at that moment, the robotic voice of Seymour sprang to life. "The weighted companion cube is a mass-produced product made for filling warehouses and for sitting on things. It serves no other practical purpose."

The group looked at each other. "Well," Alan said, walking over to the cube. "Who wants to help me throw it?"

"I will!" Roni said eagerly.

*CHUCK DEADWEIGHT*

The companion cube made a big splash as it hit the water. A look of contentment made its way onto the group's faces as they saw it sink into the water without even slowing down.

Alan and Roni high-fived each other.

Once again, Seymour observed the situation and calculated the proper response. "Companion cubes are sentient and loving. They can feel pain, and that one was about say 'I love you'.

A horrified expression slapped itself onto the group's faces. They peered over the edge of the dock in dismay.

They all knew what they had just done.

"Oh! We're horrible people!" chorused the entire group of test subjects, along with their scientist companions.

Alan eventually gathered the strength to get up. Turning to his left, he saw something very large and very odd standing on top of a small mountain. They were giant gears; one lying on its side and one standing up off the ground. It didn't by any stretch of the imagination look Aperture like, but Alan still had his ideas.

"Alright." Kent spoke up amidst the desolate atmosphere. "Moving on, I've scanned the open sections of the island thoroughly, and while it does have some strange properties, I can surely say that none of it looks as if it were created by extra-dimensional beings. I say we start scanning the island by heading inside there." He pointed to a black door at the wall beside the dock.

The group held their mouths wide open.

"I speak long sentences when I want to." Kent said, folding his arms.

"Good enough for me." Alan said, gathering the group with a wave of his hands. "Alright, move out!"

As Alan neared the door, he shifted his fingers around the smooth black surface in order to look for a handle. It came to his surprise that the door slid open once he applied enough pressure to it.

The door opened into a dark blue stairway with soft lights making up a lower portion of the wall.

"It's clear," Slaney said once she reached the bottom. "Although I don't know why anyone would wanna hang around here." She said, noting the strange design of the room.

The walls of the circular room were dark blue and segmented with vertical wooden planks that were strategically placed at 7 foot divisions. The most noticeable aspect of the room was a circular pool which had metal linings in the middle.

"What do you suppose it is?" Roni asked, examining, the table closely.

Alan saw a piece of paper attached to the side of the wall near the stairs. "Look here." He said, showing the rest of the group the paper's content. "Settings: Dimensional Manager." He read aloud.

Everyone looked towards Vernon for an answer, but he shrugged, as he too had no idea what was going on.

Alan pressed a square button beside the paper. It opened up a panel behind the wall.

"Ah! Numbers!" Slaney cried in distress, as if she'd been caught in quicksand or a deranged cephalopod were dragging her back to his aquatic laboratory.

The panel revealed a set of two numbers which could be changed at the press of a directional arrow. Alan imputed the numbers which were beside the dimensional manager setting. He pressed another red button next to those numbers. Suddenly, a beeping sound erupted from the now flashing button.

"Ah! It's going to explode!" Roni yelled, flailing her arms about.

"NO IT'S NOT!" Alan yelled back. "Enough with the over-reacting, I don't think I can-" Alan was interrupted by a three-dimensional hologram moving in the center of the open pool. The hologram showed a pedestal rotating and moving around in all directions. The hologram suddenly disappeared, and a cascade of sparks flew from the pool's surface.

"I think we broke it…" Slaney noted.

"Damn, I bet that was our ride home." Alan said, fiddling with the numbered control panel. "But then again, a dimensional transportation device seems to be a bit too good to be believable if you ask me."

Slaney nodded her head. "True… it may be the emergency exit for Vernon to use when we have our backs turned."

The group turned to face the Aperture scientist. "Now wait a minute, I'm just as confused as you are! There must've been someone else who's been here before, surely not Aperture, but perhaps… perhaps it's BLACK MESA!

DUN DUN DUNNNN!

"What!" Alan exclaimed. "Black Mesa? Are you serious?" Alan hadn't given much thought about it, but he knew that since he was pretending to be with Aperture Science, he had to make it look as if he held Black Mesa in low regards.

"I'm afraid I am serious. Black Mesa is the only other science company that could possibly be this advanced in inter-dimensional travel." Dr. Vernon said, causing a slight uneasiness within Alan.

If anyone knew about how advanced Black Mesa was in the field, it was definitely Alan. But what he worked on was elementary compared to what Aperture was able to accomplish. Even though he knew the whole situation with the book was a set-up by Aperture, he had to carry through and see everything they had to offer.

"Alright then, let's move and see what else we can find." Alan said, motioning his hand over towards the room's entrance.

The group then decided to take a good look at the island as a whole. Alan observed the tall trees on one side of the island and the sharp mountains on the other. At the top of the tallest mountain, there was a large, cylindrical, black container, which Alan knew had to be a sign of Aperture presence.

One building that immediately caught Alan's attention was a circular building which looked similar to a small Roman temple.

"I wanna go in it!" Slaney said, practically pounding on the door until it opened. Slaney ran inside and the rest of the group was forced to follow her.

Alan was the last to enter the building; by then, everyone had observed the room's white outer walls as well as a red cushioned chair placed in the middle. Over to the left of the door, there was another button similar to the on the control panel.

Slaney sat on the chair and began to giggle. There was a large black box hanging down from the ceiling reaching down in front of the said chair.

"What are you doing?" Alan asked, walking over to see the buttons that were being mercilessly pressed by the blue-haired individual. "My god what is this, a time machine? It has dates displayed and everything."

Slaney pressed a button next to the machine's dates. It gave an electronic focusing sound which quickly faded away. "Guess it doesn't work." She noted.

Alan shook his head. "Whatever, we're wasting our time here. Let's get ou-" Alan's attempt at leadership ended when the door to the building slammed closed.

"The hell?" Alan ran towards the door and threw it open, but not before whipping out that pistol he'd been given before the mission. He kicked the door open, and with table tennis like reflexes, scanned the area for a target. Nobody was there, and with good reason since they'd most likely be staring down the barrel of a 9 millimeter pistol. "Damn it, we're not alone here!" Alan yelled as his eyes flew to every last corner of the island. He ran around the entire island to see what he who interrupted their investigation. "A rocket ship, a log cabin, a clock tower, what the hell was Aperture thinking by building something straight out of a Jules Verne novel?" Alan ran to the middle of the island, catching his breath as he met up with the rest of the group.

"Are you sure the door didn't just close on itself?" Dr. Vernon asked.

"I'm sure I saw a figure walking away from the door as soon as it closed." Alan answered, resting his palms on his bent knees. "Whoever it was, it still means someone else is on the island; so we need to have our weapons and our wits ready."

Roni retracted into an obviously fake Kung-fu position.

Dr. Vernon rolled his eyes as he held the glock pistol in his right hand. "Right, well Mr. Walker, before we move on I suggest we establish a- AGH BUTTERFLY! KILL IT!" He drew his gun at the fluttering insects and flipped the safety off.

"No no wait!" The group yelled in unison.

"What? It's a butterfly! It deserves to die!" The good doctor yelled.

"No, nobody's going to die. We're only supposed to kill it if it poses a danger to us." Alan said, softening Vernon's grip on the pistol. "It's just a harmless little butterfly…"

"So you're saying we should only kill it if it's an alien or say… a Black Mesa spy?"

"Uh…yeah… I guess." Alan replied, sealing his own possible demise.

"Fine…" Dr. Vernon reluctantly conveyed as he placed the gun onto his side holster.

Upon the doctor's action, Alan noticed a strange and sudden existence with one of his pieces of equipment. "Wait, where the hell did you get that?"

"What the holster? Oh this is merely a plot device, meant to over-simplify the complications of conventional literary expressions while still retaining the essential information needed for the minds of our readers."

"So you're saying it's a simple mechanic used with no introduction or previous mentioning designed to throw the reader off into a bout of belief that can only be stopped by the formless existence of which it is cast from?

"Exactly Mr. Walker, it is only meant to give the readers an excuse for not having to think about the process and to set their minds on the less trivial things, such as advancing with the story."

Alan smiled as he leaned his head upon his left shoulder. "Gee Dr. Vernon, thanks for the info!"

Dr. Vernon nodded. "And now you know."

~X~X~X~X~X~

_Seymour OS: VERSION 1.004 STATUS UPDATE:_

…_Island ingression=success! Aperture established proper beacon after arrival… Subject SLANEY shows proper dislike for island's local fauna; calls it "squishy and depressing". DR. WALKER has heightened his aggression towards DR. VERNON in an attempt to… PROCCESSING… GET THE HELL OUT OF THIS PLACE. Team's discovery of features irrelevant INDENT FIGURE CONCLUSION=little science produced. Group looking for new ways to SETQUOTEMEMBER=SLANEY ("WE SHOULD REALLY FIND A WAY OFF HERE") _

_GROUP DISPOSITION=DYNAMIC RANGE|OXYGEN LEVELS=22.78%|FACTOR RESULT=CLEARED TO CONTINUE_

_~X~X~X~X~X~_

Author's notes: **I know what you're thinking: "What wuz dat at teh end?" Well wonder no more! That my friend was the status report given by the lovely little cutesy wutesy A.I. that was sent along with them. Aren't I smart? **

**Anyways, I was wondering what kind of sick fans would be reading this, and then I wondered what you people enjoy. That's why I'm throwing out the idea of… DRRUUUMROLOLOLOLLOLOLOLOL… A NEW STORY! **

**You: OMG YES! THAT LIKE TOTALLY WUT I WANTED!11!**

**Me: O…k… but you don't even know what I'm going to write abou-**

**You: Make a Caroline+Cave story PLZ!**

**ME: You know, I have had the idea floating around for a whi-**

**Other you: NOZE! U MUST MAKE TEH AWSUMIST TURRET STORY EVA!**

**Me: Ok weird… maybe I could get a vote to see which one is more liked! So just PM me or write in the review which one you'd prefer, and maybe one day I'll get to typing another piece of crap I like to call a story… hav funz!**


	7. The Two Towers of Inevitable SCIENCE!

Author's Notes: **Ok, ok, just to clarify, I'M NOT DEAD! I just forgot COMPLETELY about this story… fortunately though, all five of you will have the undeniable pleasure of reading this. Unless of course you have a heart attack and die. In that case, you won't be able to review… so I will be very sad :'( **

The Towers

Dr. Vernon paced around the empty library along with the other frustrated scientist and their colleagues (which Seymour had insisted on calling them 'meat shields' only seconds before). It did not take them long to make swift use of the insistent A.I.'s ability to stay quiet, and judging by the sound of silence all throughout the room, it was successful.

Finding a way off this island was priority number one. If they had no way to get off, there was no reason for them to be there. But as Caroline had said earlier, all doors enter in both directions.

"How we got onto this island is completely trivial." Alan said, assuming leadership among the group. "First we need to find out how to get off…"

Slaney raised her hand. "Maybe we can find a way to use that rocket outside. "

That rocket belongs in some sort of sci-fi novel; I don't know how it got mixed into our story. Besides, we don't even know if it has any means of navigation or where it will take us.

"Do you think maybe this place is where artists go to die?" Dr. Vernon asked, staring intently at one of the two paintings at the side of the room. Dr. Vernon was curious about this portrait. It seemed to be based directly off this room, that bookshelf to the left even showed an exact figure of his surroundings.

"Check that bookshelf, maybe there's something there!"

Alan ran to the bookshelf to see what it held. A secret lever, or an escape hatch, or a quantum tunneling device, who knows? His hope was crushed however, in a manner similar to how a train rolls over pennies.

"It's just…" Alan opened one of the books. It detailed the adventures of a little boy playing with his friend. "It's just someone's stupid self inserted fan fiction of themselves, nothing interesting here." He put it back and pulled out another partially burnt book. "Whoa," he said, reading this one which appeared to be vastly different. "Looks like Da Vinci took part in writing this one." He showed it to the rest of the group.

"Looks legit…" Slaney said once she noticed it was the mechanical working of the two huge gears at the edge of the island. 

"SARCASM DETECTED… Ponies are not permitted within the facility. Please call an Aperture Science Service Representative, who will bring you a picture of a cute and cuddly pony at your request."

"Great, it's got an active memory too. Does it even know we're still not at the Enrichment Center? Or does it detect we're on Aperture grounds?"

Dr. Vernon rushed in to suppress any suspicions. "No, no, we're not on Aperture Science property, it was just designed to only be used inside the facility, technically, we never 'left' it."

Slaney moved closer to the doctor. "We haven't left it because we're probably in some crazy virtual environment! It was you who sent us all here on this stupid chase to find nothing!" She threw her arms up wildly.

The other members of the group backed away, shirking from the heated confrontation.

Seymour inserted himself with one of his corrections. "False. Mission objectives include scientific study and observation; only an idiot would make such a mistake, stupid. Protocol suggests we keep searching for information."

Slaney backed off from Dr. Vernon, but not before giving him a piercing look which read 'I'm onto you.'

"I think we need to… open those?" Roni mentioned, pointing to the large gears encumbered in some speed lines on one of the opened books.

"Why I think you're right subject…" Dr. Vernon struggled to remember her name, as his age was finally getting to him and his memory somewhat fading. "Rini…"

"Close enough."Roni admitted.

Alan turned to Kent, his hand grasping his chin. "What now?"

Before the large man was able to answer, the weighted machine on his back did the job for him. "Analysis suggests randomly pushing and touching things until something happens. And if all else fails, use explosives."

A smile found its way onto Slaney's face. "At least the robot makes more sense that the so called 'smart' people. I mean it tells us to do something instead of stand around and argue and that's a start."

Both Alan and Vernon rolled their eyes. When Alan's eyes finished their defiant routine, they landed on that painting showing the bookshelf in a different position, a position of stairs leading upwards to an equally dark wooden path. It did not take long for Alan to realize that behind this painting must lie a tool to his escape off this island, perhaps in the form of a button or a long metal switch with a bright red ball shaped handle. As he tried to pull the painting off the wall, his thumb, which was positioned on the inside of the painting, somehow went _inside_ of the painting as if it were made of a fluid substance. He nearly lost his balance, falling back at the surprising sight of the painting convulsing into a swirling vortex.

A low hum convulsed at the swirling of the picture, the group joined in a collective gasp.

Their fear was quelled however when the movement stopped, and the bookshelves slid downwards to expose a passageway behind the false wall. The door into the library was now closed, but intuition said that the other painting would surely give a reversed effect.

"Good job Seymour!" Dr. Vernon exclaimed. "Brilliant observation!"

"But he… it just…" Alan said, self-aware that he'd made the mistake of assigning a gender/emotional attachment to the A.I. Still, the name and rather low pitched voice only drew natural assumptions.

"…Gave good advice? Why it did, now we have a means of advancing."

"I don't know…" Slaney mentioned. "That seemed rather out of the blue, I thought the machine was supposed to be good at calculating math and stuff."

"Math and stuff?" Dr. Vernon repeated to himself, taking such great offense to the statement and nearly causing a self inflicted heart-attack. "Math and stuff? Really? Do you know how degrading and simplistic that sounds?"

Slaney immediately rose to a defensive position. "Can't be as degrading and simplistic as talking to you… and I meant angles and trajectories and falling stuff, why would it say something like that? I'm not questioning the fact that it can do that, but when did it know that it could?"

The room fell into silence once more. Eventually, they looked to Seymour for an answer.

The machine took a moment to process the question; metaphysical concepts were by no means its specialty, but it usually took everything in its simplest terms, and made stuff up from there on to sound more complex. Finally, it's speakers emitted the words, "Analyzing… A Clematis plant's juice can cause a rash, when pruning them; it's a good idea to wear gloves. The answer is… five."

"Shut that thing off; it's either broken, or it's being influenced too much by Slaney..." Alan demanded in a subtle verbal retaliation. 

"You can't shut those things off; they need to constantly be on…" Dr. Vernon corrected. "Although I do believe there's a mute butto- yes, right there."

Slaney gave a sigh of relief. If only we had that button on… someone else." She said looking towards Dr. Vernon.

"Alright, enough you two. Slaney, come with me, we're exploring." He said, guiding her eager movements with his hand. "You three, stay here. And make sure Dr. Vernon doesn't escape by some self inflating Aperture Science weather balloon or something…" The two then proceeded to the newly formed stairs.

Heading down the dark wooden hallway, they eventually reached what seemed to an early twentieth century still small elevator. The elevator's shell was made of a dark, scratchy, rusty steel, and it's interior of a softer pale material. They both crammed in, knowing whatever they found at the top, or bottom, would help them get to the bottom of the lame trick that Aperture had thrown at them.

"So, what do you think about all this?" Alan asked as he pressed the only button in the lift.

"It's all a big conspiracy set up by Aperture, doesn't look like you're in it, but you can never be sure. Dr. Vernon is the most brainwashed freak I've ever been with, but at least I have Special K to follow me around."

"Special… K?" Alan asked as the elevator roared to life and began moving.

"It's a nickname, Special K, Macaroni, Dr. Vermin…"

"And what's my nickname?" Alan asked, hoping it wasn't too embarrassing.

"Dr. Walker…" Slaney said with a smile.

"Right, well I'd like to let you know that's not the worst you can come up with. It's not that I don't like the sound, I just don't like… the memories." He almost cringed at his own recollection laced words.

"Why do we even need someone with your expertise here anyways? Wouldn't it be easier to have someone who has super jumping abilities?"

"This is supposed to be a scientific mission… I guess I'm essential for any data observations and recordings we may encounter." Judging by the indifference on Slaney's face, the answer was substantial, although he knew this was technically supposed to be an inter-dimensional black op. 

Upon reaching the top of the mountain, the two exited the elevator into a circular alcove. The black wall on the outer edge rotated and later Alan figured out this was because Roni had been messing with another painting which caused the outer shell to move and expose different sections to the outside world. As the scientist ordered the rotations to be made at each interval, he noticed that the open notch always landed exactly in a certain spot, such as the large metal gears on the island or the retro looking rocket ship. He pulled the radio up to meet his lips once more.

"Alright, now it's facing the gears…" Alan said, waiting for a response to come back. "There are some numbers here, want me to repeat them to you?"

"Sure if you think it'll help." Roni replied over the walkie-talkie.

Alan fed her the numbers and they recorded the others from then on. Some numbers seemed to be in the form of dates, and the others in the form of simple linear listings.

"Alright, that's it… Can you guys perhaps go over to the gears and look up here? I want to have visual confirmation."

In about a minute's time, the rest of the group could be seen down below, huddled near the giant steel cogs. The island's haze was still wrapped in a thick fog, and nothing could be seen beyond a certain distance of open water.

"Are they up there?" Kent asked, scanning the cylindrical black structure at the top of the mountain.

"Yeah, look," Roni pointed towards the thin slit where Slaney could be seen standing before surrendering her attention to one of the nearby switches. "You can see her hair."

"Can you hear me down there?" Slaney yelled down at the group whom promptly nodded in response. "Two forty! You hear that? Alan says the clock tower should be set at two forty!"

Roni looked back in confusion. "But the clock tower doesn't have two forty on it, it has…" She looked over to a large clock tower at the opposite end of the island, covered mostly by trees. "Something other than two forty…"

"Current time is… Too late, go to bed…" Seymour said, disabling his own mute setting in perhaps a display of rebellion. "Please roll out the Aperture Science sleeping mat and proceed to lie down, with your eyes closed and your body flat. If proper levels of Melatonin have been administered, sleep will come quite naturally, if it hasn't… good luck."

"Just what I need…" Kent said. "A robot telling me how to sleep. Does it expect all people to be work at Aperture?" He then hi-fived Roni.

Oblivious completely to the joke, Dr. Vernon pondered once more a literal translation to the inquiry. "Good question, I don't know if it has yet to deal with anyone outside of the enrichment center, although to it, the Aperture Science _is _the world. At the facility, we simulate daylight at all hours to keep ourselves awake; it might be the lack of radiant light on this strange island which is confusing its delicate little sensors." The Aperture doctor then proceeded to pet the machine as if it were a soft puppy.

After hailing each other, the group re-organized in the small column garden in front of the library. Alan insisted they head towards the clock tower while Dr. Vernon tried to examine 'local alien fauna' as he called it.

"Such a strange environment for these trees to be in…" Dr. Vernon noted, examining the tall wooden timber with the tap of his knuckle. "I don't recall hearing any redwood trees growing on an island."

Alan continued down the island and towards the water bound clock tower. The island was rather small, way too small to gather the resources necessary to create its own structures. But Aperture was obviously putting them through one of their tests, only this one longer and more elaborate. The only question was why? What did it have to gain? Why spend untold amounts of money creating a book with a portal field stamped onto it?

Alan's chest sank as he realized the power one could wield with such a method. Think of it, instantly being able to transport from one place to another, easy to hide, easy to move, difficult to uncover. With a book like that, the world could be ever changed into a new era of travel and transportation.

Or maybe Aperture was really bad at making such devices and only managed to conjure up one. At Black Mesa, teleportation projects were often based upon how much room the basement generator took up and how large the nuclear coolant pumps were; even then, they had yet to produce a stable means of success, so Aperture Science's difficulty would by no means be strange.

But they did have those portal guns… damn…

Alan approached the clock tower which was a good ten feet out in the water. A couple brown wheels and an equally red button lay on the ground before them. "Two forty, set it to two forty…" He said, pointing to Kent. "Try turning those wheels to change the time."

After a few minutes of trial and error, the time on the clock had been set to the same time etched at the top of the mountain tower. Kent pressed the red button and some gear shaped stepping stones arose from under the water.

"What use is a clock which doesn't tell time?" Slaney asked as she stepped into the opened door of the stone structure. "It's like a-"

"Yes, yes, we understand how stupid and inferior we are, now would you mind being a good test subject and make sure the inside is not booby trapped?" Dr. Vernon retorted.

"He means make sure you can find a solution on your own… we'll be out here, waiting for you." Alan corrected.

Slaney made her way inside, and ordered Kent to follow suit. Seymour noticed the small cramped room probably had a connection to gears in some way.

"Analysis suggests pushing and pulling things until something bad happens."

"Good advice Socrates…" Slaney said, actually following through with the advice, and pulling the first switches she saw in the numbered order she saw up on the tower next to the time display. "I think it worked. Aperture made this one too easy, when comes the hard stuff where you have to read upside down?" She noticed that the weight at the bottom had ceased to move now; whereas before the three weights had all been affected by another's movement. "You know, I kind of think Seymour's the brains of this group, isn't that right, bucket of silicon?"

"Processing personal response… you're welcome."

"And it's so polite… Is it too late to replace some members of our group?"

"Processing… time is too late, go to bed."

"But I'm not tired!" Slaney whined.

"Aperture Science recommends combating lack of tiredness with intense physical activity and testing."

"Well, some things never change." Slaney said as she patted the machine strapped to 'Special K's' back.

~X~X~X~X~X~

APERTURE SCIENCE DATA PLATFORM TRANSMITTING… FREQUENCY GOOD… SIGNAL GOOD… MESSAGE SENT.

_Subjects seem to be getting along better than expected. Sarcasm has been adopted into personality platform section 00YU94II as a platform upgrade. Progress steady, suggest group takes a long nap before continuing. [DR. VERNON] has yet to transmit any negative signals about APERTURE SCIENCE… SEYMOUR processing system has recognized 74 instances of disloyalty among rest of group. Recommending fun administration. Seymour system… over. 04284fauhvzFAH#4h21Cv…_

~X~X~X~X~X~


End file.
